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MEASURE YOUR MIND 

The Mentimeier and 
How to Use It 

BY 

M. R. TRABUE, Ph. D. 

AND 

. FRANK PARKER STOCKBRIDGE 




WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 
IN TEXT 



DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 

GARDEN CITY NEW YORK LONDON 

1920 



<** 



*Vi 



COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY 

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 

ALL EIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF 

TRANSLATION INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, 

INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN 



APR 26 i'B^O 



©CLA566767 



PREFACE 

The publishers offer this book primarily as a popular treatise 
on the measurement of intelligence by scientific methods. 

Every effort has been made to conform to the soundest scienti- 
fic principles, both in the preparation of the Mentimeter tests, 
around which the volume is largely written, and in the intro- 
ductory and explanatory chapters, in which the principles of 
applied psychology, as they bear upon mental tests, are stated 
in popular language. 

The Mentimeters are based upon Doctor Trabue's experience 
(1) as Assistant in Educational Psychology at Teachers College, 
Columbia University, (2) as psychological investigator of the 
intellectual status of inmates of charitable institutions and of 
pupils in the public schools, (3) as author of various intellectual 
and educational scales, widely used by psychologists and 
educators, (4) as Chief Psychological Examiner in two of the 
largest Army camps, directing the intellectual examination of 
more than a hundred thousand soldiers, (5) as Captain in the 
Adjutant General's Department, U. S. Army, measuring the 
intellectual abilities of men in the Aviation Service, and (6) 
as Assistant Professor in Columbia University, giving instruc- 
tion in the theory and practice of intellectual measurements 
and directing the application of such measurements to tens of 
thousands of school pupils. 

Frank Parker Stockbridge, Doctor Trabue's collaborator, is an 
author and journalist of a high order. As managing editor of 
Popular Mechanics and contributor to the World's Work, 
Harper's, Popular Science Monthly, etc., he has been thrown 
into contact with important affairs in the world of science so 



vi PREFACE 

that he is especially equipped to work with Doctor Trabue in 
presenting this interesting subject. As director of the publicity 
campaign of the American Library Association War Fund his 
contact with the Army and the results of the biggest experiment 
in the way of psychological tests that the world has ever seen 
was invaluable to him in this work. The publishers feel that the 
collaboration is a particularly happy one. 

The success of the scientific method of testing intelligence 
among both officers and men in the Army has directed wide- 
spread attention to the general subject. The Mentimeter is 
the first comprehensive system of tests, applicable to the whole 
range of educational and industrial requirements, to be offered 
for general use. 

To employers and those in charge of the selection, grading, 
and promotion of workers of every class, in factories, offices, and 
stores; to teachers of all grades, from kindergarten to university; 
to parents who are interested in ascertaining, and watching the 
growth of their children's mental development and to young 
men and young women striving for self-improvement and ad- 
vancement and desirous of learning something of their own 
mental capacities and limitations as a guide to the intelligent 
choice of vocations or professions, the publishers offer this book 
in the confident belief that it will be found of real service. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I Science Versus Guesswork 3 

II The Applications of Psychological Tests . . 16 

III What These Tests Measure 23 

IV Standards for Mental Tests 33 

V Different Types of Mental Tests .... 44 

VI Mental Tests in the Army 53 

VII Psychological Tests in Education .... 63 

VIII Mental Tests in Industry 76 

IX How to Use the Mentimeter Tests ... 88 

X The Mentimeter Tests 109 

XI Trade Tests or Tests of Skill . . . . . 274 

Appendices 287 



MEASURE YOUR 
MIND 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 

CHAPTER I 
SCIENCE VERSUS GUESSWORK 

There are two ways, and only two, in which we can find out 
what a machine is capable of doing. One of these is to try it 
out, to "put it through its paces" by using it for every sort of 
work which it is expected to perform and observing whether or 
not it does what we want it to do. The other way is to measure 
it (or to take the measurements of it as supplied by its respon- 
sible manufacturer) and compare these with the measurements 
of the essential parts of machines with the performance of which 
we are already familiar. 

Unless it is a brand-new type of machine, designed to do some- 
thing that has never before been done by machinery, or to do it 
by a different mechanical method, there is obviously a great 
saving of time and money in buying a machine from specifica- 
tions that insure the correct performance of its expected duty 
over the other plan of first buying the machine and then trying 
it out in practice to see whether it will do what we want done. 

The manufacturer or business man who would purchase ma- 
chinery of any sort without first making certain that its dimen- 
sions, speeds, weight, power-consumption, controls, and the 
materials used in its construction were such as to adapt it pre- 
cisely to the work he expected to do with it would speedily 
bankrupt his business. It takes but a moment's thought for 
the reader to prove this to himself. 

On the other hand, however, we find business men constantly 
employing men and women to perform specific duties without 



4 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

applying any tests or measurements, other than the most rudi- 
mentary ones, to determine in advance whether the person so 
employed is fitted for the work he or she is expected to do. i\.nd 
as every employer knows, one of the most costly wastes in al- 
most every business or manufacturing establishment is the ex- 
pense of constantly "breaking in" new employees to take the 
places of those who have left or have been dismissed because 
they were found, after trial, not to be fitted for the duties to be 
done. 

Because the installation of machinery of any kind involves 
an initial outlay of money, it long ago became apparent to 
everybody that the "trial and error" method of buying 
machines or other commodities was wasteful and ruinous. It 
was not until recent years, however, that the closer study of 
operating costs disclosed the fact that the expense of "labour 
turnover," that is to say the proportion of employees in any 
given business whose places have to be filled annually, is one of 
the heaviest avoidable drains on income. This was long over- 
looked because no capital investment is involved in the initial 
employment of labour. The cost of training new employees 
is much larger, it is now learned, in most businesses, than is 
generally understood, not only in the direct outlay in salary or 
wages before the new employee has mastered the duties of the 
new position as well as he or she is able, but in loss through 
spoiled materials, reduced individual output, and often in the 
slowing down of an entire chain of manufacturing operations 
through the inability of the inexperienced worker to maintain 
the pace of the rest of the links in the chain. 

If, then, as so often happens, it is found after experiment that 
the new employee is not capable of performing the work effi- 
ciently, the whole process must be repeated. The employee 
who has failed leaves, is dismissed, or is transferred to another 
department, and a new and equally inexperienced worker em- 
ployed to fill the vacancy, with the whole cost of training to 
be incurred over again. Even though the new worker may be 



SCIENCE VERSUS GUESSWORK 5 

experienced in the particular class of work to be done, there is 
an appreciable loss due to the unavoidable frictions and hesita- 
tions that occur whenever a worker is being fitted into a new 
environment. 

There is, moreover, no guarantee that even an experienced 
person in a special sort of work is fitted to do that particular 
work as well as it can be done or should be done. He or she 
may have got into that sort of work by accident. That is 
usually the way in which a boy or girl begins a business or 
industrial career. He or she may have continued in it merely 
because the experience gained in the first job enables its pos- 
sessor to pass the superficial scrutiny of foremen, managers, or 
others who employ "help " in the first instance. But just as all 
the experience and training in the world will not make a Pade- 
rewski out of a person who was not born with the precise combi- 
nation of sensory and nervous qualities that the master musician 
possesses, though almost any one with ten fingers and an ear for 
harmony can be taught to play the piano after a fashion, so it 
is true that while in the all-important business of earning a living 
almost anybody can be trained to do most of the ordinary man- 
ufacturing and business operations, after a fashion, it is only 
those who were born with certain combinations of nerve-endings 
and sensory apparatus who can be trained into first-rate sales- 
men, or expert tool-makers. And this holds true all the way 
down the line, to the simplest and most automatic operations 
necessary in business industry. 

Individuals themselves are seldom aware of their own capaci- 
ties; even less generally of their own limitations. Occasionally, 
by accident, a man or a woman finds at the right time the op- 
portunity to do precisely the things he or she is best fitted to do. 
Often the individual's strong personal instincts or inclinations 
lead him or her to seek opportunity to do certain kinds of work 
without any clear understanding why that sort of work appeals 
while other kinds do not. Few human beings analyze their 
inclinations closely. Yet it may be and frequently is the case 



6 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

that the work one most strongly desires to undertake is not that 
in which he or she is best fitted to succeed. The inclination 
may be counterbalanced by inhibitions of which neither the 
possessor nor his or her employer becomes aware until repeated 
failure has demonstrated the lack of adaptability, sometimes 
after it is, or seems to be, too late to take up another occupation. 
Then the worker usually drifts into the ranks of "casuals," 
constantly moving from job to job, chronically "out of work"; 
the ready dupe of agitators and the prophets of social unrest 
and revolution; disheartened, anti-social, and perennially un- 
happy; the most expensive sort of an employee in any position, 
no matter how small the wage — yet a human being, and, as such, 
entitled to liberty and the pursuit of happiness ! 

That is an extreme picture. Yet if such tragedies occur (as 
every reader knows from his own observation and experience 
they do occur too often) among those who have voluntarily 
chosen their own lines of work, how much more frequently 
must they occur among those whose daily occupations have 
been determined for them, not through any voluntary choice 
or intelligent guidance but solely through the accident of having 
been "thrown into" certain jobs when they were young? 

That is the way in which the vast majority of individuals 
have their careers shaped for them. The world of business 
and industry and of the professions is full of blacksmiths who 
ought to be carpenters, indifferent lawyers who would have 
made good dentists, teachers who are failures because they 
should have been trained as stenographers, good cooks who have 
been spoiled to make mediocre shop attendants, and so on 
through the list of possible occupations. Within every business 
organization, moreover, there are grades and degrees of require- 
ments and responsibilities into which some employees may fit 
perfectly, others less perfectly and others not at all, though all 
be drawn from the same group or from those performing the 
same general class of service. Here, as in the matter of original 
employment, the general custom of dealing with the human 



SCIENCE VERSUS GUESSWORK 7 

element in industry is the wasteful "hire-and-fire" system, 
analogous to the purchasing of machinery or equipment without 
first ascertaining whether it will do the work, and scrapping it 
when it fails. 

We found out long ago that we couldn't afford to do that sort 
of thing with machinery. We are just beginning to find out 
that it is even more expensive to do it with the human element 
in industry. 

It would perhaps be going too far to claim that the whole 
problem of the "labour turnover" arises from the effort to fit 
square pegs into round holes, but it is certain that a very large 
share of all human troubles, industrial unrest, discontent, in- 
efficiency and unhappiness is traceable to the lack of proper 
adjustment between the man and the job, and this in turn is 
due in large part to the failure to determine in advance the fit- 
ness of the particular individual for the particular task. 

What is needed, obviously, is a measure of human capacities, 
just as we have means of measuring every phase of the machine's 
capacities. 

Just as we measure a machine by the most precise gauges 
and tests available, why not measure the human individual 
by the most precise means we are able to apply? 

The word "measure" in the preceding paragraph does not 
mean, either in the case of the machine or of the man, the gross 
dimensions of length, breadth, and thickness; these are equally 
immaterial, in most cases, whether the subject of measurement 
be a man or a machine. One measures a machine to determine 
its capacity for certain work, and is little concerned about its 
characteristics that have no bearing upon those qualities that 
fit it for those particular duties. So the measurements of a 
human being whose capacity for certain duties is to be deter- 
mined must be of those qualities which enable him or her to per- 
form according to a certain predetermined requirement. 

These qualities, in man, woman, or child, can be measured; 
not with the precision with which an engineer measures the 



8 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

parts of a machine that must fit within a thousandth of an inch, 
but with sufficient accuracy to determine quickly, inexpensively, 
and simply whether a given individual has the capacity to learn 
and perform any given task or class of work. 

To explain how these tests can be made, how science can be 
and is being substituted for guesswork in the selection of human 
beings for jobs and of jobs for human beings, just as science 
has displaced guesswork in the selection of material commodities, 
is the purpose of this book. 

Let us first point out clearly the difference between science 
and guesswork. The vast majority of jobs are filled by guess- 
work. The farmer who hires a field hand, the housewife who 
employs a cook, the foreman who takes on a new "hand" in 
the factory, and even employers hiring persons for more respon- 
sible positions, all do it, to a greater degree than they imagine, 
by guesswork. They may make inquiries, more or less thorough 
depending upon the compensation and responsibility involved, 
of persons who are reputed to know by observation something 
of the candidate's qualifications. Unless the individual under 
consideration be flagrantly and patently unfit the reports thus 
obtained are almost always favourable. In many cases no 
effort is made even to obtain such reports. 

Many persons who regard themselves as intelligent employ 
men and women for all sorts of delicate operations and confi- 
dential and responsible relations as a result of observation alone; 
yet observation alone will tell no more about a man or a woman 
than it will about an automobile — the shape and the colouring. 

When you observe a human being you can determine certain 
physical characteristics, such as size, complexion, colour of eyes 
and hair, soundness of teeth, shape of body and head, contour 
of face, features, and expression. You make up your mind 
that you like the person or you do not. But as for determining 
by means of anything your unaided observation discloses 
whether or not the person under examination is qualified either 
to perform or to learn how to perform efficiently a given task 



SCIENCE VERSUS GUESSWORK 9 

or set of tasks, you might as well expect to discover the hill- 
climbing power of an automobile by merely looking at it. 

Yet that is precisely the way in which, in the vast majority 
of cases, the supremely important work of fitting individuals and 
jobs together is done in the world of business and industry. 

True, the prospective employer usually asks a few questions, 
but the applicant's manner and tone of voice have usually as 
much to do with the final decision as the actual replies. 

Men and women are usually hired, in short, on their looks 
and on the impressions made at a single short interview. That 
it is too much to expect persons so selected to fit into even the 
simplest sort of a business or industrial organization should be 
obvious to every intelligent person; that sometimes they do fit 
should be no less obviously recognized as largely accidental. 

We do not recognize the absurdity of this method of selecting 
persons for particular positions, partly because this is the only 
way most of us have ever known and partly because there is in 
almost every human being a secret or subconscious belief in his 
own peculiar powers of judging others by means of surface in- 
dications. 

The fallacy of the belief that one may arrive at accurate 
conclusions as to individual capacity and characteristics by 
merely looking at the individuals concerned has been well set 
forth by Prof. L. M. Terman of Stanford University. Much 
of the popular belief in the efficacy of this method, Doctor Ter- 
man believes, is due to the fact that the public does not know 
that the pretensions of the pseudo-science of "phrenology" wexe^ 
long ago shown to be unwarranted. According to phrenology, 
definite and constant relations are believed to exist between 
certain mental traits and the contour of the head. Phrenolo- 
gists teach, for example, that one's endowment in such traits 
as intelligence, combativeness, sympathy, tenderness, honesty, 
religious fervour, and courage may be judged by the prominence 
of various parts of the skull. While the sincerity of Gall, the 
French physiologist of a century ago who invented the so-called 



10 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

science, and of his followers, is not to be questioned, the preten- 
sions of phrenology itself have been thoroughly exploded. It 
has been demonstrated that traits like those above mentioned 
do not have separate and well-defined seats in the brain and 
that skull contour is not a reliable index of the brain develop- 
ment beneath. 

"In the underworld of pseudo-science, however," says Pro- 
fessor Terman, "phrenology and kindred fakes survive. Hun- 
dreds of men and women still earn their living by ' feeling bumps 
on the head,' reading character from the lines of the hand, etc. 

"But if the rating of men by pseudo-science is misleading, 
perhaps science is still unnecessary. It may be argued that 
mental traits can be rated accurately enough for all practical 
purposes on the basis of ordinary observation of one's behaviour, 
speech, and appearance. We are constantly judging people by 
this offhand method, because we are compelled to do so. Con- 
sequently we all acquire a certain facility in handling the 
method. For ordinary purposes it is infinitely better than 
nothing. A skilful observer can estimate roughly the height 
of an airplane; but if we would know its real height we must use 
the methods of science and perform a mathematical computa- 
tion. 

"The trouble with the observational method is its lack of a 
universal standard of judgment. One observer may use a high, 
another a low standard of comparison. A four-story building 
in the midst of New York's 'sky-scrapers' looks very low; 
placed in the midst of a wide expanse of one-story structures it 
would look very tall. 

"Moreover, we are easily misled by appearances. The writer 
knows a young man who looks so foolish that he is often mis- 
taken by casual acquaintances for a mental defective. In 
reality he is one of the half dozen brightest students in a large 
university. Another man who in reality has the mentality 
of a ten-year-old child is so intelligent looking that he was able 
to secure employment as a city policeman. 



SCIENCE VERSUS GUESSWORK 11 

"Language is a great deceiver. The fluent talker is likely to 
be overrated, the person of stumbling or monosyllabic speech 
to be underrated. Similar errors are made in judging the in- 
telligence of the sprightly and the stolid, the aggressive and the 
timid, etc. Our tendency is also to overestimate the intellectual 
quality of our friends and to underestimate that of persons we 
do not like. 

"If the method of offhand judgment were reliable, different 
judges would agree in their ratings of the same individual. 
When the judges disagree it is evident that not all can be cor- 
rect. When intelligence is rated in this way wide differences of 
opinion invariably appear. Twenty-five members of a univer- 
sity class who had worked together intimately for a year were 
asked to rate the individuals of the class from 1 to 25 in order 
of intelligence. The result was surprising. Almost every 
member of the class was rated among the brightest by some- 
one, and almost every member of the class among the dullest 
by someone. Doubtless the judges were misled by all sorts of 
irrelevant matters, such as personal appearance, fluency of 
speech, positiveness of manner, personal likes and dislikes, etc. 

"The method of personal estimate is much better than the 
method of external signs (phrenology), but to be reliable it 
must be supplemented by a method which is objective, that is, 
a method which is not influenced by the personal bias of the 
judge or by such irrelevant factors as the appearance, speech, or 
bearing of the one to be rated. Such is the method of intelli- 
gence tests." 

It would, of course, as Professor Terman points out, be 
absurd to contend that it is impossible to arrive at a rough esti- 
mate of an individual's capacities and character by observation, 
as it is absurd to pretend that accurate measurements of an 
individual's capacities can be made by the same method. There 
are men who have by long experience learned to judge on very 
brief contacts the possibilities of applicants for positions. 
Actually, what such employers do is to apply, though crudely 



12 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

and unscientifically, a limited number of tells which might 
fairly be classed as psychological. Out of a long experience 
they have accumulated an accurate knowledge of the work to 
be done and of the general type of individual who has been found 
best qualified to perform that work. This sort of ability, how- 
ever, is acquired solely through long experience, and even then 
it can only be acquired by men or women who themselves 
possess certain mental qualities, which might easily be gauged 
and classified, the possession of which enables them to accumu- 
late and utilize experience in this manner. 

This sort of ability can by no means be transferred from one 
individual to another by description or by mere training. It is 
precisely like the ability which an experienced automobile re- 
pair man possesses, that enables him to tell by a quick inspec- 
tion and after only a few minutes of observation what are the 
principal things the matter with a car and what service it is 
probably able to perform. But a repair man cannot tell any- 
body else how to size up an automobile at a glance, because the 
only way any one can learn to do it is by going through the same 
process of taking automobiles apart and putting them together 
again for a period of years. And as everyone who has ever had 
occasion to deal with automobile repairs is aware, the most ex- 
perienced repair men are seldom positive that they know just 
what is wrong and all that is wrong without applying precise 
measurements and painstaking tests. 

It is easy enough to determine that a delicate, small-boned, 
slender person is not the best type to employ for digging coal, 
loading freight cars, or other arduous manual labour. There 
are, of course, many classes of occupations the fitness or unfit- 
ness for which of a particular individual must be determined in 
the first place by that individual's physical characteristics. So 
far the observation method suffices. But the very fact that 
every industry and business is full of misfits and that it is a 
matter of common knowledge that the most difficult problem 
the employer has to face is that of finding the right person for 



SCIENCE VERSUS GUESSWORK 13 

each particular job that calls for anything more than mere 
physical strength, is the best evidence that even the most ex- 
perienced and accurate observers are far from infallible in their 
judgments of individual capacities. ^_ 

For that matter, there is no infallible test. No true scientist 
claims infallibility. The possibility of error is always present^ 
wherever the human element is involved. It is a safe assump- 
tion that any method or estimate that purports to be infallible 
is fraudulent. There is in almost every human mind a lurking, 
subconscious belief in the possibility of perfection. It is this 
which makes humanity credulous when claims of infallibility 
are plausibly presented. 

It is extremely difficult to satisfy by logic and reason the type 
of mind that is strongly influenced by glittering generalities 
and emphatic, though unsupported, assertions. It is equally 
difficult to convince the skeptic whose mind is closed to the in- 
troduction of new thoughts and who, in his self-satisfaction 
with his own mental limitations, rejects every fact that does not 
tally with his preconceived ideas. 

This book is written neither for the super-skeptical nor the 
ultra-credulous. It makes no pretension to infallibility, nor 
does any scientifically trained psychologist pretend that there 
has yet been evolved a method of measuring every dimension 
and capacity of the human mind beyond the possibility of error. 
The methods described in this book are the fruit of years of ex- 
periment, research, and practical application of the results of 
experiment and research, and are designed to reflect the develop- 
ment of the science of psychology in its application to mental 
measurements as closely as it is possible to do so within the lim- 
its of a single volume written primarily for the reader who has 
no special scientific training along psychological lines. 

The reader who is not prepared and willing to examine facts 
and at least to take all the ascertainable facts into consideration 
before forming his conclusions is not likely to be interested. The 
scientific method of character analysis or mental measurement 



14 MEASURE YOUH MIND 

is based upon the comparison of the largest possible collection of 
ascertained facts. Guess work has no place in it. Psychology 
has small dealings with intuition and instinct nor is it in any 
way derived from magic or concerned with the occult. There 
are no unfathomable mysteries. There is no fact about the 
operation of the human mind which cannot be subjected to sci- 
entific investigation and measurement by any intelligent person. 
The scientific method requires that every conclusion must square 
with the results obtained by the experimental application of all 
related facts or be discredited as worthless. Theories have no 
place in science, except as something to be disproved if possible, 
and a single fact which does not square with any theory dis- 
proves the theory. 
— -* The scientific method of mental measurement has passed the 
theoretical stage. It has squared with the facts wherever it 
has been intelligently applied. It has been demonstrated in a 
wide range of business and industrial applications, in education 
and in its use in determining the qualities and fitness of officers 
and men in the Army and Navy. What it offers is the shortest, 
simplest, and most accurate means available of determining 
human capacities and qualities. 

"Professor Terman has admirably summarized the advan- 
tages of the scientific method of testing intelligence, as follows : 

"1. It gives us a universal standard of comparison. The re- 
sult is absolutely uninfluenced by the general intellectual level 
of the group with which the subject to be rated happens to be 
associated. It is like measuring the height of a house instead 
of estimating it by comparison with the height of surrounding 
buildings. 

"2. It multiplies enormously the significance of mental 
performance. It does this by making fine distinctions which 
would be overlooked by the method of offhand judgment. It 
is like placing a smeared glass under a microscope and discover- 
ing that the smear is a complicated network of organic matter. 

"3. The test method is objective; that is, free from the in- 



SCIENCE VERSUS GUESSWORK 15 

fluence of personal bias. It gives approximately the same ver- 
dict to-day, next week, or next year. It does not change its 
opinion. More important still, the verdict will be approximately 
the same whoever makes the test, whether a relative, a stranger, 
a friend, or an enemy, provided only that the rules of procedure 
be rigidly followed. 

"4. The test result is little influenced by the subject's educa- 
tional advantages. In this it differs greatly from offhand judg- 
ment, which so easily mistakes the results of schooling for real 
intelligence. The test method probes beneath the veneer of 
education and gives an index of raw 'brain power.' For exam- 
ple, a young woman who had been stolen in early childhood by 
gypsies and had spent her life with them was given the Binet- 
Simon intelligence test. She had never attended school a day 
in her life and had only learned to read by bribing a little school 
girl to teach her the alphabet; yet she made a higher score than 
the average found for two hundred high-school pupils who were 
given the same test. 

"No wonder," Professor Terman concludes, "mentality 
tests have acquired such a wide vogue in the ten years since 
Binet gave to the world the first successful intelligence scale. 
In that time they have demonstrated their usefulness in the 
study of the feeble-minded, in the grading of school-children, 
in determining the mental responsibility of offenders, and in the 
selection of employees. Their largest and most useful applica- 
tions have been in the mental classification of men in the United 
States Army." 



CHAPTER II 
THE APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS 

The intelligent reader has by this time begun to see for him- 
self some of the possibilities opened up by the use of scientific 
mental tests, and to perceive their applicability in a wide diver- 
sity of fields. In later chapters specific examples of such appli- 
cations are given in detail, and suggestions offered for still other 
uses of the tests which are contained in this book. 

The usefulness of all mental tests, whether those which are 
offered in this volume under the general title of "The Menti- 
meter," or others that may be set up with equal scientific preci- 
sion, depends upon, or at least is greatly enhanced, by the most 
complete understanding of the underlying principles on the part 
of the person who undertakes to apply them. The purpose of 
this and the next three succeeding chapters is to make these 
principles so plain that by the time the reader has reached the 
tests themselves he will have a perfectly clear understanding, 
not only of what the Mentimeter tests are but of why they have 
been put into the form in which he finds them, and of how 
their use will enable him to gauge human intelligence and ca- 
pacity with a greater degree of accuracy than he has found 
possible by other means. If, perchance, psychologists find in 
this volume much that is to them elementary, it should be kept 
in mind that it is only through the widest possible spread of 
sound understanding of psychological principles that the wider 
application of them in the ordinary walks of life can be brought 
about. That, the authors take it, is the great end toward 
which scientific psychologists are aiming, and that is the aim of 
this book. 

16 



APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS 17 

The general purpose of psychological tests is to determine 
how individuals compare with one another in mental capacity, 
or with standards based upon the capacities of individuals known 
to possess certain qualities. Thus, it may be desirable, as it 
frequently is, to determine the relative abilities of the individ- 
uals of a certain group, like a school or college class, clerks em- 
ployed in a similar form of work, a number of applicants for a 
certain position for which only the most capable among the 
candidates is desired, or the soldiers of a particular company or 
regiment. What is required here is a method of grading these 
individuals with reference to one another, by means of tests 
which need not necessarily have any relation to any external 
standard of mental perfection. 

The process here is as if one were to be told to pick out of all 
the automobiles in a garage the best one, the next best, and so 
on, classifying these particular cars and no others with relation 
to one another and not with respect to any standards of automo- 
bile perfection introduced from outside. None of the cars 
might be perfect; perhaps the best one of the lot has leaky piston- 
rings and none of them will climb a 10 per cent, grade on high 
gear. It is a comparatively easy matter, however, to devise 
a few simple tests that will grade a dozen or fifty automobiles 
in regard to their relative ability to climb hills, carry loads, and 
perform the other services expected of an automobile. The 
one that will climb hills the best may not also be the one that 
will carry the heaviest load or travel the most miles on a gallon 
of gasolene, but out of such a series of group tests any one inter- 
ested can readily determine which of all the automobiles in the 
group is the best general purpose car, which the poorest, and 
about where the others grade with reference to these two ex- 
tremes. l/> 

That is about the process that a man engaged in the automo- 
bile trucking business would use in determining which one of 
the cars he has available is best adapted for a particular piece 
of hauling that is to be done. He wants to know which of his 



18 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

cars he can rely upon for any one of many different sorts of 
service, but he particularly wants to know all the time which of 
them are worth spending money on for repairs and improve- 
ments and general overhauling and which are either so poorly 
constructed in the first place or so hopelessly out of repair that 
it is cheaper to scrap them than to spend any more money on 
trying to make them fit for service. 

In other words, the automobile owner needs to know which of his 
cars, however poor its present ability, has such inherent qualities 
as to justify the belief that it can be made more efficient by proper 
attention and reasonable expenditure of money. 

Now, that is precisely what the employer of workers, the com- 
mander of soldiers, the teacher of a class or any one else charged 
with responsibility for the performance of any sort of tasks by 
any group of human beings, wants to know about the individuals 
under his direction. He should know or be able to determine 
readily not alone what each of the individuals can actually do 
and which ones can do particular tasks better than the others, 
but it is important for him to know the relative capacities of the 
entire group, so that he can determine, as in the case of the 
automobiles which have been used as an illustration, which of 
them are most worth spending time and effort upon in the ex- 
pectation that they will learn to do even more difficult tasks, 
and which of them are so hopelessly incapable that nothing is 
to be expected of them except the simplest routine perform- 
ances. 

Now, the man who operates a fleet of automobile trucks does 
not stop when he has made a comparison of the vehicles in his 
garage with one another, but is constantly comparing the per- 
formance of each with standards established by other cars, 
machines of different makes, and with new machines. There 
exists, and he is constantly conscious of its existence, an ideal 
standard of performance for automobiles to which his cars must 
conform as nearly as possible if their service is to be satisfactory. 

So, in measuring human capacity, it is not enough to compare 



APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS 10 

the individuals of a group with one another, though this is es- 
sential and for some purposes temporarily sufficient; there are 
available standards based upon the actual achievements of in- 
dividuals of known capacity by which the mental powers of 
any and all individuals may be gauged. It will readily be 
seen that the employer of a number of persons — engaged, let us 
say, in some specific mechanical or clerical operation — needs to 
know not only whether some of these are capable of being 
trained to do i better work and some so incapable of further 
training that it would be cheaper to discharge them and fill 
their places with more intelligent persons, but also to know how 
any particular group of employees compares in average intelli- 
gence and how each one of the group compares in individual 
intelligence with the average or higher-than-average capacity 
of those outside of his own particular business establishment 
who are engaged in similar work. 

This is a matter of dollars and cents to the employer. If he 
can obtain a standard that is universal or nearly so, that tells 
him, in fact, what all of the employers in his line of business have 
found to be the average or the limits of mental capacity possessed 
by workers of a particular class, then he is in a position to deter- 
mine whether he is getting equally good service for the wages 
which he pays as is obtained by other employers requiring simi- 
lar service. 

To illustrate concretely: in an office employing twenty sten- 
ographers on correspondence, it is not only necessary for the 
employer to know which of these stenographers is the most 
competent and which the least and whether the less competent 
are incapable merely because they are beginners or because they 
lack the necessary mental capacity ever to become competent. 
He should also be able to measure the mental capacity of the 
entire group by some standard based upon the performance of 
thousands and tens of thousands of stenographers of known de- 
grees of ability. He may discover that the most competent 
of his entire staff is only as capable as the average of good sten- 



20 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

ographers everywhere. Obviously, his business is handicapped 
by having a stenographic force which is inferior in capacity and, 
consequently, in accuracy, speed, and other essential require- 
ments, to the average of stenographic office staffs in business 
generally. Once this has been determined, the intelligent 
employer will proceed to replace the stenographers who are 
incapable of improvement, as indicated by the tests applied, 
with stenographers who respond to the standard tests with a 
score well above the average. 

So, too, with the teacher. It is comparatively easy for the 
teacher to classify his or her pupils into bright, stupid, and 
mediocre, through observation alone. What is more important, 
however, is to determine several things about each pupil which 
observation alone does not tell. Are the stupid ones really 
stupid or merely inattentive? Have they the necessary mental 
capacity to perform the assigned work of the class or are they 
simply lazy? Few teachers can answer this question; none 
with any degree of accuracy without the application of scientific 
tests of mental capacity. Are the bright children really bright 
by comparison with other children of the same age and school 
grade or do they merely shine by contrast with the dull members 
of the class? This question can by no means be answered ac- 
curately except by the application of mental capacity tests. 
In another chapter some of the concrete applications of, mental 
tests in education are described at length. The point to be em^" 
phasized here is that the measurement of the mental capacities 
of any group should be based upon standards that will not only 
determine the relative capacities of the members of the group 
but will, at the same time, compare them all with standards 
that reflect the known average and maximum capacities of all 
others of similar age and environment. 

The purpose of these tests might be summed up somewhat as 
follows: 

To measure, by comparison with the group average or with very 
carefully determined standards, some of the infinite number of 



APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS 21 

qualities and abilities, the possession of which by the individual 
renders him more or less susceptible to education and training or 
more or less capable of successfully performing certain actions re- 
quiring conscious direction from the mind. 

It requires no special argument to point out how a general 
application of tests that disclose actual mental capacities might 
profoundly affect our judgment of men of all classes and walks 
of life. Were it possible to ticket and catalogue the whole 
human race in accordance with the capacity of each individual 
as disclosed under properly devised psychological tests, we would 
no longer permit the superficial absence of polish and taste to 
blind us to the inherent powers and capacities of the self-made 
man, nor, on the other hand, would we be so ready to assume 
that the well-dressed, fluent talker, no matter how prepossessing 
in appearance and manner, was necessarily able and worthy of 
confidence. Likewise, once such a classification became univer- 
sal, it is conceivable that many business men and others who 
are prone to criticize the universities and their products would be 
more tolerant of the recent graduate, whose mental capacity is 
in no wise reflected by the particular variety of contents with 
which his mind has been filled in college. 

Besides the application of scientific mental tests as already 
indicated, in business and industry and in education, by the 
employer or the teacher, there is another and important use to 
which standardized tests, based upon determined capacities of 
groups and individuals of known ability, may be put. This is 
the use of such tests by the individual upon himself for the pur- 
pose of determining his own mental capacity in a particular 
direction or of a particular kind as compared with the mental 
capacity of others. The man or woman bent on self-improve- 
ment or advancement may thus, within certain limits, assess 
by the application of standardized tests his or her own mental 
quality and capacity. 

Again it is unnecessary to point out the advantage to the 
young man or young woman endeavouring to decide upon a 



22 MEASURE YOUR M1XD 

career or to determine what particular course of study to pursue 
or line of business to enter, in being enabled to obtain an 
accurate gauge of his or her own qualities, powers, and limita- 
tions. Taste and inclination are no safe guides to life unless 
there is coupled with them inherent capacity for the competent 
exercise of the faculties which make the gratification of one's in- 
dividual tastes and inclinations possible. Thus it may be that 
the individual's inclinations and tastes run strongly toward 
music, toward art in any of its various forms, but that physical 
and mental inhibitions, the presence or absence of which may 
be readily determined, make it impossible for the possessor of 
such tastes to hope to be able to perform creditably the acts 
which a successful artist or musician must perform. 

Properly devised and applied psychological tests may con- 
ceivably disclose the existence of mental powers and capacities 
unsuspected or neglected because overshadowed by strong 
inclinations in other directions; early knowledge of the posses- 
sion of such capacities may easily direct their possessors into 
fields in which they can thrive and prosper and achieve far 
greater happiness and contentment than would ever be possible 
through a lifetime of striving to do that for which they are not 
fitted by inheritance. 



CHAPTER III 

WHAT THESE TESTS MEASURE 

The most natural question and one that is frequently asked 
is: 

"What, precisely, do psychological tests measure?" 
It is a question that is easier to ask than to answer,, 
It is simple enough to say that mental tests are designed to 
measure the natural or inherent mental capacity of the individ- 
ual, but in order to approach a clear understanding of just 
what this means we must first define what is meant by the term 
"mental capacity." 

As a matter of scientific fact, the term "mental capacity" can 
hardly be regarded as accurate, although it is the best term we 
have to describe the qualities which determine the individual's 
ability to perform acts requiring conscious thought,, Psycho- 
logical and biological science no longer regards the human mind 
as something different from or in any way apart from the human 
body. The idea that there is such an entity as a mind that 
operates even in the slightest degree without reference to and 
independent of the physical body must be dismissed, if we are 
to grasp clearly the principles and methods of mental tests. 

To the psychologist the mind is merely a specialized organ 
of the physical body. The intangible something, which is 
what is usually meant when persons speak of the human mind, 
is merely the sum of all the sensations, feelings, and judgments 
resulting from the delicate adjustment of an almost infinite 
number of nerve fibres which in themselves are a part of the 
physical body. One may have at birth a plentiful supply or a 
poor supply of potential nerve endings which are ready to be 

23 



24 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

organized and coordinated by experience and training, but un- 
less one has the opportunity to learn from study and experience, 
the desirable connections may never be developed. 

The maximum capacity of the mind in any particular field is, 
therefore, practically determined by physical inheritance of an 
abundant supply of nerve endings. Thus, it may be that one 
individual is born with two or three times as many nerve ter- 
minals connecting at the point at the back of the eyeball where 
the optic nerve — which is simply a bundle or rope of nerve 
fibres — is attached to the mechanical apparatus upon which the 
reflection of objects passing before the field of vision is registered. 
Such an individual's powers of observation are normally greater 
than those of the person of less fortunate heredity in this respect, 
whose lesser number of terminals of the optic nerve fibres limit 
his powers of optical perception and observation. Thus, one 
person may see at a glance a hundred details, all of which regis- 
ter sharply upon his consciousness, while another sees only the 
gross outlines and shadows, and in between is the average per- 
son who sees some details but not all. 

It is well known to psychologists and biologists, although 
not generally understood by those who have not made a special 
study of these sciences, that mental capacity does not change 
or increase materially after the individual has reached maturity. 
It may be diminished through accident or disease, but the chief 
increase in adult life is in the volume and variety of stored-up 
impressions. The average girl of eighteen or boy of twenty has 
reached the approximate limit of his or her mental capacity. 
The mental tank will never grow much larger. It may be half 
empty or almost entirely vacant, but unless at the average age 
of university sophomores scientific mental tests prove the in- 
dividual to be possessed of average or better than average men- 
tal capacity, it is futile to expect any great intellectual develop- 
ment to take place in later life. 

But while the maximum capacity of the mind depends upon 
physical inheritance, the actual ability which is necessarily 



WHAT THESE TESTS MEASURE 25 

reflected in the scores made by a person subjected to mental 
tests is determined by the number and variety of nerve con- 
nections that have actually been made by environment or 
training. Inheritance sets the maximum limit, but as a matter 
of practice this maximum is never reached, or at least is so 
seldom reached by any individual that it can hardly be said of 
any human being that he has developed his mind in any direc- 
tion to the utmost limit of its capacity. What we actually 
measure in scientific mental tests is a complex of natural or 
inherent abilities plus the results of education and training; 
because, while it is possible to a considerable extent to eliminate 
by properly devised tests a record of the individual's acquired 
knowledge, it is practically impossible to distinguish between 
acquired and inherent mental ability. 

Note carefully the distinction between mental ability and 
mental capacity. Mental ability in any individual is always 
less than his mental capacity. If, therefore, the mental ability" 
as determined by scientific tests reaches the highest point on the 
scale of measurement, whatever that may be, it follows that the 
mental capacity of the individual making a perfect score is even 
greater than the scale is designed to measure, and how much 
greater can only be determined by setting up new tests based 

Zon higher standards. 
The result of any scientific test simply indicates the wealth of 
rve connections that are ready to be made when the stimulus 
necessary to their establishment is applied. It must be under- 
stood that no one having a sound claim to the possession of 
scientific knowledge can contend that there are tests in existence 
that actually measure with complete precision the inherited as 
distinguished from the acquired mental characteristics. It is 
not conceded, however, that such precise measurements cannot 
be made if at any time it becomes necessary or desirable to do so. 
For all practical present-day purposes it is sufficient that psycho- 
logical tests shall measure mental qualities which are manifested 
by the individual's ability to express them by action or speech. 



26 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

The classification of individuals relative to one another and with 
reference to the possession of a particular mental ability or group 
of abilities is, therefore, necessarily based upon their relative 
ability to express in some intelligible and unmistakable fashion 
their mental power and qualities. 

Back of this power of expression may lie hidden and un- 
dreamed-of capacities of which the individual himself may be 
vaguely conscious but of which he can give no outward mani- 
festation. It may be, for example, that an individual is gifted 
with unusual powers of perception through the eyes, ears, and 
the senses of touch, smell, and taste but that he is deficient in 
nerve fibres and connections controlling the voluntary muscles 
by which human beings translate sensations into action and 
speech. This is hardly likely, as a physiological fact, to occur; 
the individual born with rich nerve endings in one part of the 
physical body is more likely to have a proportionate supply of 
nerve endings in all other parts of the body than to be deficient 
in one part and amply supplied in another. As rare exceptions, 
however, there are individuals who in infancy have, through 
accident or disease, lost certain groups of nerve connections 
while retaining unusually rich groups in other parts of the body. 
There is, of course, the most famous case in modern history, that 
of Helen Keller, whose auditory and optical nerve connections 
were lost through disease in early infancy, but whose unusual 
inherent mental capacity has been able to demonstrate itself 
through other and extraordinary means as a result of training 
and education. 

But in ordinary life, if a man or a woman has some mental 
quality which does not express itself in an action which other 
persons can see or hear and know about, then it is not socially 
important. It is of consequence only to the individual and it is 
of little social service to undertake to measure these obscure and 
unexpressed and inexpressible capacities, as they can never, 
until they find means of expression, affect the individual's ability 
or efficiency in any occupation. It is not that these things can- 



WHAT THESE TESTS MEASURE 27 

not be measured. The case of Helen Keller is one demonstra- 
tion that they can be measured. Anything whatever that 
makes a difference in the way different individuals act is con- 
ceivably measurable, although it may not at the present time 
be capable of exact calculation because it has not been worth 
anybody's time and effort to undertake to measure it. 

To repeat, and possibly to make the preceding paragraphs 
more clear, let us recapitulate the different mental qualities to 
which reference has been made. 

""First, mental capacity. This is what the individual has in- 
herited. It is the size of the tank into which sensations, per- 

"ceptions, all that makes up the sum of knowledge, are poured 
throughout his life, by his education and his experience. While 
this capacity in the case of any individual can doubtless be 
measured, it is not necessary to measure it precisely but merely 
to determine whether it is large enough for the purposes in view. 

""^ Second, mental ability. This is the sum of experience and 
education within the limits of the individual's mental capacity. 

~TF is represented by the individual's ability to express himself 
in speech or action in the performance of any one of a number 
of specific acts. This mental ability can be quite definitely 
measured, and the possession of a certain degree of mental 
ability demonstrates the possession of a mental capacity greater 
than the ability which the individual has already reached. 

Third, acquired knowledge. It is not the purpose of tests of 
mental capacity to measure acquired knowledge, although for 
many purposes it is desirable to measure the individual's ac- 
quired knowledge in addition to his inherent ability, and in a 
still larger number of instances the most practical way of ar- 
riving at a fairly accurate estimate of an individual's ability 
involves, among other tests, an examination into the extent of 
the knowledge which he has acquired through observation or 
training along lines definitely related to his particular occupa- 
tion or pursuit in life. 
~~ The ordinary and standardized school and university exam- 



J^ 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 



inations, civil-service examinations, etc., which have long been 
the accepted test of the individual's ability, do not, and do not 
purport to, measure anything more than this last item, that of 
acquired knowledge. But while certain gross dimensions of 
individual capacity may be roughly estimated from the results 
of a written or an oral examination based entirely upon the sub- 
ject's stored-up knowledge, it is a matter of common knowledge, 
and almost every reader will be able to furnish examples out of'' 
his own experience, that such tests are frequently totally mis- 
leading. Professor Terman has reported on a comparison of 
the results of civil-service examinations for policemen and fire- 
men in a California city with scientific tests applied to the in- 
dividuals who successfully passed the civil-service examinations. 
The results were in many instances astounding. Men of such 
low mental capacity that they might almost be classed as feeble- 
minded were found to have passed with a fair degree of satisfac- 
tion the simple knowledge and physical tests set up by the city 
and to have obtained appointments to these responsible posts 
as guardians of the city's property and lives. 

While it is, therefore, the object of scientific mental tests td*— * 
exclude as far as possible the acquired abilities resulting from 
education and environment and the knowledge that has been 
stored up through observation and training, it is found in prac- 
tice that for all ordinary purposes it is sufficient to measure a 
complex of native and acquired abilities. The purpose of these 
tests is, in short, to discover what the individual is actually able 
to do, regardless of the source of that ability, provided, however, 
that the test of ability is so devised as to make a clear distinc- 
tion between mere feats of memory and the actual exercise of 
original thought. 

Now, it must be obvious that for the measurement of any- 
thing so complex and multi-dimensioned as the human mind, 
no single test or scale can be established. One cannot measure 
the power of visual perception, for example, by the same scale 
that is used to measure attentiveness or initiative. As a matter 



WHAT THESE TESTS MEASURE 29 

of fact, psychologists no longer attempt to classify human abili- 
ties as narrowly as was once the popular practice. It is almost 
impossible for even an expert psychologist to be sure he knows 
just what qualities and all the qualities any particular test meas- 
ures. This is because modern psychologists no longer group 
reactions into general functions such as memory, attention, rea- 
son, etc., but simply describe accurately the stimulus given and 
the conditions under which it was given and then describe just 
as accurately what the reaction is. The test may be built up, 
for example, to measure ability to recognize and classify words, 
but it will also depend upon ability to read the directions, ability 
to attend closely to horizontal and vertical lines and upon many 
other correlated abilities. Any test may measure primarily a 
particular mental dimension or ability but it is quite certain 
that the resulting score will be influenced by numberless other 
factors than the one that the examiner is most interested in 
measuring. 

But since one of the very best tests of intelligence is, of course, 
the degree to which one is able to profit by social contacts and 
the breadth and variety of the individual's stored-up impres- 
sions, these extraneous or collateral qualities, which every test 
also more or less successfully measures in addition to the partic- 
ular quality or mental dimension under direct examination, 
furnish useful data in arriving at a conclusion which is, after all, 
the main purpose sought, as to the individual's actual abilities 
and potential powers. 

In order, however, to get at a really useful record of the mental 
capacity of an individual, we must apply a variety of tests and 
out of the sum total of the results of these tests we are able much 
more accurately to gauge the degree of possession of the qualities 
for which we are seeking than could possibly be done by any 
single test, no matter how skilfully constructed. Here again 
science confronts the popular human demand for a panacea. 
But just as in medicine only the quack offers a cure-all, so, in 
other fields, science has no single standard to offer by which all 



30 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

results in a given field may be accomplished, and psychology 
cannot now or at any time in the future pretend that by a single 
method or a single measurement mental capacity can be gauged. 

To come back to an analogy used in a previous chapter, you 
cannot measure all the qualities of an automobile with a ten-foot 
rod. Your ten-foot rod will tell you whether the wheel base is 
120 inches or more of less than that. It will not tell you how 
much above or below 120 inches. If it be necessary for you to 
know that, you must provide yourself with a longer or more 
minutely graded measuring implement; but because the ten- 
foot rod does not at a glance disclose to you all that you wish to 
know about a particular automobile, you do not, therefore, either 
discredit the ten-foot rod as a measuring implement or declare 
that the automobile cannot be measured except by the unaided 
human eye. 

The limitations of the ten-foot rod are perfectly obvious to 
you; and so, too, are the complexities of the automobile, which 
require a variety of instruments and tests for their proper gaug- 
ing and measurement. So before you undertake to form a 
judgment as to the ability of a particular automobile, you either 
measure it yourself or, as a matter of practice, you have it meas- 
ured for you by a competent engineer. You do not necessarily 
inquire, if you have confidence in the engineer, as to precisely 
what dimensions and what materials he found in every part of 
the car, but you respect his conclusions, knowing that they are 
based upon the most precise and accurate measurements pos- 
sible with the aid of such instruments as science has been able to 
devise, and you are satisfied that the conclusions form an ac- 
curate estimate of the machine's qualities. 

The engineer who sets out to measure an automobile in all of 
its capacities and powers must provide himself with tachometers 
for measuring the engine's revolutions, dynamometers for testing 
its tractive force, micrometer calipers for gauging the bore and 
the stroke, thermometers for measuring its temperature, galva- 
nometers for testing its magneto and battery, and hundreds of 



WHAT THESE TESTS MEASURE 31 

other instruments, the readings of which must be assembled 
and studied by means of complex, comparative mathematical 
formulas before he can tell you what a particular automobile will 
do. 

The human mind, it must be apparent to every reader, is not 
less complex than the automobile. On the contrary, it is in- 
finitely more complex and subject to an infinitely wider range 
of variations. As has been pointed out above, it is not neces- 
sary for practical, every-day purposes to measure every possible 
variation and every one of the infinite number of dimensions of 
any human mind in order to ascertain the individual's ability 
to succeed in the ordinary pursuits of life. But even in our 
ordinary, every-day affairs and contacts, in the simplest forms 
of employment, there are called into play such a number of 
different sorts of ability and mental power that there must be 
applied, if one is really to know of what a particular individual 
is capable, a large variety of tests of different kinds for measuring 
different powers. And for the mental measurement of individ- 
uals whose work calls for the highest development and capacity, 
a still larger variety of tests must be applied. 

It is not always possible — in fact, it is extremely difficult — to 
devise tests that do not to some degree measure the mental 
content resulting from education and experience, in the effort to 
measure the mental capacity which limits and controls one's 
education and experience. The qualities that determine capa- 
city are inherent in the individual. One is born with them or is 
not born with them. In their whole infinite variety they are not 
all possessed by any one individual, and the particular grouping 
of mental qualities which any one person inherits is probably not 
possessed by any other person living or who has ever lived. Yet 
while individuals differ so completely that it can truthfully be 
said that Nature never cast two persons in the same mold, yet 
there are qualities possessed by all intelligent persons, the sim- 
pler and more elemental expressions of which are absolutely 
essential to intelligent life and existence, and these can be so 



32 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

grouped, classified, measured, and standardized as to provide, 
a scale whereby the inherent capacity with respect to these 
important and essential qualities may be determined equally 
in the case of the totally illiterate, untrained labourer or artisan 
and the highly trained, educated product of a university post- 
graduate course. 

As a matter of practical, every-day common sense, one does 
not expect to find, nor does one find, except as a rare exception, an 
individual engaged in menial or purely physical labour who is 
endowed with inherent mental capacity comparable to that 
of the university graduate. A person possessing such capaci- 
ties moves out from the ranks of labour in spite of educational 
handicaps; the history of American business and industry is full 
of the romantic stories of men who have achieved success as 
organizers and administrators, though in many cases absolutely 
illiterate. Properly applied psychological tests would pass over 
all or nearly all of the acquired knowledge of such individuals 
about their particular business and related matters, and neglect 
also, the bulk, at least, of the acquired knowledge of the univer- 
sity man, and so compare merely what might be called two naked 
brains, the native intelligence of each being the only thing to be 
measured. As has been pointed out, it is difficult or almost 
impossible to devise tests that entirely strip the layers of ac- 
quired knowledge from the raw mental powers beneath them, 
but for the practical purposes of the application of psychology 
and psychological tests in the affairs of every-day life, this can 
be done within a reasonable percentage of error. 



CHAPTER IV 
STANDARDS FOR MENTAL TESTS 

To test or measure mental capacity or any of the dimensions 
and powers of the human mind, two preliminary steps are nec- 
essary. 

First, it must be determined what particular powers or quali- 
ties of the mind it is desired to measure. 

Second, there must be prepared a standard or scale that is, 
primarily at least, adapted to the measurement of those partic- 
ular qualities. 

While it is, in practice, as has been heretofore pointed out, 
impossible entirely to segregate a particular mental quality or 
power from all the other abilities and capacities possessed by a 
particular individual, it is possible to select certain characteris- 
tics or abilities which, by the degree of their presence or ab- 
sence, give a fair index of certain mental dimensions or capaci- 
ties, and to devise tests that, when taken together, will measure 
these "key -abilities" and so reflect the general ability and ca- 
pacity of the subject. The standards by which the results of 
such tests are gauged must necessarily, therefore, be such as have 
been shown, by experiment and experience, to give the closest 
possible measurement of the individual's ability in these partic- 
ular directions, by enabling the examiner to compare each sub- 
ject's performance under the test, or series of tests, with the rec- 
ords made under precisely similar tests by individuals and 
groups of known ability. 

Mental capacity tests may be devised that will measure cer- 
tain mental qualities of an infant who has not yet learned to 
talk, and by thus providing a comparison between this partic- 

33 



34 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

ular child's capacities and the average of children of the same 
age, enable parents and physicians to determine in what direc- 
tion efforts looking toward its mental development may most 
helpfully be undertaken. Thus we may test the infant's power 
of observation and perception of shapes, of colours, of sounds 
and familiar objects before it is able to talk, measuring these by 
standards derived from experience with similar tests applied 
to a large number of healthy, normal infants, and by this means 
determining whether the subject is above or below the normal 
average for its age and if so in what respects. 

At the other end of the scale of mental development, let us 
assume, is the possessor of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 
from "any of the great universities, since this is the principal de- 
gree the possession of which tends to show the possession of un- 
usual mental powers, if not necessarily of wisdom. By apply- 
ing to a large number of Ph.D.'s tests which are designed to 
require for their successful performance the utmost use of all 
their inherent mental abilities, and arriving at an average of 
performance by tabulating and comparing the degrees or per- 
centages of perfection achieved by all of the individuals so 
tested, a standard is set up by which to measure the mental 
capacity of any individual or group of individuals of superior ? 
or presumably superior, intelligence. By such a standard there 
may be measured also the mental capacity of men and women 
who have never seen the inside of a university, but whose educa- 
tion has been acquired in the course of their business and pro- 
fessional activities. This is so because what is measured is not 
acquired knowledge, but the ability to acquire knowledge, which is 
quite a different thing. 

The simplest way to measure the capacity of a circular tank 
is to pump it full of water and then measure the water as it is 
drawn off. But it would be absurd to contend that because 
there has never been any water pumped into the tank it is there- 
fore impossible to determine how much water it would hold. 
And what the Doctor of Philosophy has got out of his univer- 



STANDARDS FOR MENTAL TESTS 35 

sity course is comparable to the water in the tank. The uni- 
versity may have assisted, and if its faculty were competent 
undoubtedly did assist him, in discovering earlier in life than he 
otherwise would have discovered the actual capacity of his 
mental tank. Rut there are probably as many men of equal 
mental capacity whose mental tanks have never been filled with 
the particular kind of intellectual fluid that the Ph. D. carries 
about with him, whose capacity there is no other means of meas- 
uring than by the application of mental tests based upon the 
known capacities of Doctors of Philosophy. 

The process of measuring the human mind is, indeed, precisely 
like the process of measuring an automobile by an engineer, as 
was pointed out in the preceding chapter. Back of the tests 
that are applied to the automobile to determine its abilities and 
capacities there must lie a mass of very definite, exact knowledge 
of all automobiles or all types of automobiles already in existence 
and whose capacities and limitations are already definitely 
known. It is of no service to ascertain that the engine cylinders 
are of four-inch bore and that the piston has a six-inch stroke, 
unless it is well known what the possession of a given number of 
cylinders of that particular bore and stroke signifies as to the 
ability or capacity of an automobile engine. That knowledge 
has been acquired by the observation and measurement over a 
period of years of the performance of many automobiles of vary- 
ing cylinder sizes and number of cylinders, and the comparison 
of each size and type with all the others. 

Similarly, it is of no service to apply a test of any kind to a 
human being unless we have, in the first place, determined just 
what particular abilities or capacities we want to measure, and, 
in the second place, possessed ourselves of knowledge as to the 
significance of these capacities, after they have been measured. 

Here, again, the reader should keep constantly in mind the 
warnings set forth in the preceding chapter and try to think of 
mental abilities and qualities not as detached, separate, sharply 
defined parts of a mental whole (as the engine, transmission and 



SO MEASURE YOUR MIND 

bearings of the wheels of an automobile are detaehable, separate 
entities) but rather as qualities so intermingled and connected 
by an infinite number of attachments to all the other mental 
qualities and abilities that no one particular ability can be 
measured separately or even positively delimited by any sort of 
test. Even if this could be done in the case of one individual, 
the process would have to be repeated in each separate, individ- 
ual case, as in no two human beings is there found exactly the 
same combination and correlation of the manifold manifestations 
of conscious sensation and thought that together make up the 
human intelligence. 

But having determined just what qualities and abilities it is 
desired to measure, we must set up a standard of measurement 
by whicli to compare the indicated ability of each individual 
examined, or we shall have nothing as a result of our test but a 
mass of information, of the significance of which we cannot 
possibly be aware. This standard, for some purposes, may be 
merely a composite record of the performances of a particular 
group or class examined simultaneously and under the same con- 
ditions. That is to say, if all that is required is to determine 
which individual of a group has the greatest ability in certain 
directions (and by inference the greatest capacity for further 
development along similar lines) then all that is necessary is 
to apply a test that will give a comparative measurement of the 
intelligence of this particular group. But if the purpose is to 
ascertain how a particular individual, or the average of a group 
of individuals, compares in particular kinds of capacity with 
the average or the most highly developed persons of the same 
status, education, occupation, or age, then the standard by which 
the subject must be measured must be one derived from the 
observation and measurement of the mental capacities of as 
large a number as possible of individuals engaged in all sorts 
of occupations and of all degrees and grades of educational at- 
tainment. And even where the purpose is merely to determine 
the relative qualifications and capacities of a particular limited 



STANDARDS FOR MENTAL TESTS 37 

group, it is as a matter of practice desirable, it might almost be 
said necessary, to compare the performance of each individual 
of the group with a standard previously fixed and determined as 
a result of a much broader series of observations and experi- 
ments than can be made within the limits of any group to which 
it is practicable to apply any given set of tests as a whole. 

This is true for two reasons. First, without such an outside 
standard of comparison all that is determined by the application 
of even the most carefully devised tests to any group is that cer- 
tain individuals are more and certain others are less able in 
particular ways than the average of the group. The net result 
is of service, but of nowhere near the service of a record of the 
same individuals' performances graded in accordance with their 
approach to conformity with a universal standard. For exam- 
ple, one might take two, three, or a dozen automobiles on a speed- 
way and quite readily determine which was the fastest and which 
the slowest, but unless one were possessed of certain standards 
of measurements that in themselves have no relation whatever to 
automobiles, the net result would be of little consequence and 
of no value whatever in comparing any one of these cars with 
another automobile that had not taken part in the particular 
test. In this case, two standards are requisite, namely, distance 
and time. The length of the course must be definitely ascer- 
tained. The time required for each automobile under test to 
cover the course must be accurately recorded. 

Now we have a record of performance that compares at all 
times with universal standards. If we add another automobile 
to the group we do not need again to run all the cars, including 
the new one, along the speedway to determine where the added 
member of the group ranks with reference to the others; we can 
apply to it alone a test based upon the universal standards of 
time and distance with which we have already compared the 
others, and the new one falls instantly into its proper rank among 
its fellows. So, too, we are enabled by this means to compare 
any member of the group with any automobile anywhere in the 



38 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

world, the performance of which has been gauged by these same 
universal standards of time and space, and we are thus able to 
tell, not only how each particular car ranks with reference to 
the limited group of cars, but how it ranks with reference to all 
cars of all kinds or of a particular type so far as these have been 
tested by the universal standard. 

So in testing groups of individuals as to their intelligence or 
mental capacity, the use of universal standards of comparison 
makes the relative grading of the members of the group with 
reference to each other just as easy and simple as though the only 
standard were that of the group's collective performance, and at 
the same time furnishes a record of the performance of each 
individual member of the group by which he or she may be 
readily compared with the members of any new group to which 
he or she may be at some subsequent time attached, and at all 
times with the general run of men or women of the same or dif- 
fering social, economic, vocational, or educational status. 

It is in the determination of these universal standards and the" 
preparation of tests, the results of which indicate the individ- 
ual's relative approximation to these standards, that the scienti- 
fic training of the psychologist comes principally into play. 
Rough standards for testing the more obvious mental capacities 
might be set up by any intelligent person who would take the 
pains to collect the essential data. These standards would not, 
however, be universal unless they were based upon research and 
experimentation covering as broad a field as that in which the 
psychologists have been working for many years. Nor would 
they, except by accident, be as simple and as accurate as the 
universal standards compiled by scientifically trained persons. 
For just as the average untrained individual cannot form an 
accurate or even an approximately accurate estimate of another 
person's character and abilities by observation alone, so persons 
untrained in the study of the human mind are prone to be 
misled by the obvious and to lay undue emphasis upon external 
indications which do not, as a matter of scientific fact, actually 



STANDARDS FOR MENTAL TESTS 39 

signify what they are popularly believed to indicate. The 
scientific psychologist's training enables him to eliminate to a 
large extent the non-essentials and to include, in the establish- 
ment of standards of mental measurement and the preparation 
of tests or methods of applying these standards, many facts 
which, to the untrained mind, do not at once present themselves 
as important elements. 

Even in the simplest of mechanical operations every workman 
knows that it is not safe to trust to the accuracy of homemade 
measuring implements. In the absence of a try -square made by 
a responsible manufacturer in conformity with the universally 
standard right angle, even the most expert carpenter will refuse 
to run the risk of error until he has either obtained a new stand- 
ard from the hardware store or by the application of geometrical 
science and the exercise of careful and painstaking technical 
skill constructed for himself a new try-square that conforms, 
without the variation of a hair's-breadth, to the universal stand- 
ard to which he must work. Still less would a good machinist 
undertake to gauge the close tolerances of an automobile bearing 
with a homemade micrometer. He knows it is not sufficient 
merely to have a perfect fit of this particular bearing, which 
might be worked out by rule of thumb, but that it is essential 
that the dimensions of the bearing, down to within a thousandth 
of an inch, must conform to the universal standards for auto- 
mobile bearings, and that the best implement with which to test 
the degree of conformity to the universal standard is the stand- 
ardized micrometer, prepared by specialized methods and pro- 
duced only by the exercise of highly trained technical skill. 
Once given such implements of precision, any good workman 
can readily apply all the scientific intelligence that went into the 
devising of the standards and the preparation of the methods of 
applying them. 

So, once there are at hand scientifically devised standards 
with which the mental qualities of any individual may be 
gauged and compared, and tests have been prepared for the 



40 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

scientific measurement of these qualities with reference to the 
established standards, the application of these tests to individ- 
uals may be made by anybody sufficiently intelligent to grasp 
their purport and follow directions exactly. It is not necessary, 
in other words, even for the testing of the most complex and 
highly developed mental powers, that the actual application of 
the test be made by the scientific psychologist. It is possible, 
and it has been the purpose in the preparation of the tests which 
are presented in this book, to devise mental tests which, if 
applied precisely as indicated in the instructions accompanying 
them, will yield the same results in the hands of the wholly un- 
trained examiner as though the actual administration of the 
tests had been made by the scientist who devised them. 

It must not be thought that the result of any test is always 
100 per cent, accurate. Even good workmen sometimes 
make errors in the use of the most precise scientific in- 
struments. Even though constructed with the most painstaking 
care, according to the truest scientific formulas and by men of 
the highest technical training and skill, the mechanical instru- 
ments of precision are occasionally found to be inaccurate. 
If this is the case with material implements and dimensions which 
are finite, concrete, and tangible, how much greater is the liabil- 
ity to error in dealing with the intangible, infinite, and more 
or less abstract qualities of the human mind. The scientific 
psychologist is, after all, merely another human being, and as 
such equally liable with all other human beings to human error. 
Of no man or woman can it be said that he or she is infallible, 
and as every one who applies a psychological test is human, and 
so liable to error either in its application or the reading of its 
result, conclusions drawn from the results of any particular test 
should be accepted as accurate only when they have been 
checked by the results of other tests applied to the same subject, 
and substantial conformity of the results of one to those of the 
others has been obtained. For this reason, among others, no 
single test can be expected to yield definite and complete infor- 



STANDARDS FOR MENTAL TESTS 

mation as to any particular individual's mental capacity or 
ability, whether gauged by the universal standard or by grou p 
comparison. It has, therefore, been necessary to establish, as 
preliminary to the preparation of the Mentimeter tests, a variety 
of standards, and to prepare a considerable number of tests 
under each of these standards, all or most of which must be used 
in each instance if anything approaching scientific accuracy is 
to be reflected in the resulting scores. 

As has previously been pointed out, however, the scientific 
method is incomparably freer from the liability to error than 
any method of determining human ability and capacity that 
depends upon unaided personal observation. How completely^ 
this has been demonstrated in practice in a wide range of fields 
is set forth in subsequent chapters. To yield results of maxi- 
mum accuracy, however, scientific mental tests must be used 
only with reference to the standards on which they are based. 

Lest it has not been made clear already to the reader how the 
method of establishing mental standards of comparison oper- 
ates, let us again briefly try to point out just what is meant by a 
universal standard of mental capacity. 

It is a comparatively simple matter, involving merely a con- 
siderable amount of painstaking search and the expenditure of 
a good deal of time to find, let us say, a thousand engineers, each 
of whom has demonstrated in the course of his professional prac- 
tice that he possesses unusual ability to project and design 
bridges and viaducts. Let us suppose that we wish to take the 
average capacity of these thousand engineers as the standard 
by which to measure every budding engineer in the technical 
schools with reference to the capacity of each to become a 
planner and designer of bridges and viaducts. 

The scientific psychologist must first familiarize himself with 
the essentials of that combination of artistic, technical, and 
mathematical skill which makes a great engineer. This is not 
a simple or easy task to begin with, and to accomplish it calls 
for the exercise of highly trained mental powers on the part of the 



42 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

investigator as well as a thorough understanding of the opera- 
tion of the various processes of the human mind. Then there 
must be devised methods by which, as simply and yet as pre- 
cisely as possible, each of these thousand engineers of known 
capacity may be tested as to the degree in which he possesses 
the various abilities, the sum total of which is the measure of his 
capacity as an engineer. It may be necessary to make these 
tests over a period of years, and the tests themselves may and 
probably will require frequent revision and amendment as it is 
found in the course of their application that some of them are 
unnecessary and others inadequate. If it is found that any of 
the tests so applied is readily fulfilled by every subject examined, 
the effort is made to increase the difficulty of the test, until it 
has reached a stage where the perfect performance of all its 
requirements is barely within the reach of the ablest and most 
competent of all the engineers under examination. Indeed, 
some of the tests may be so difficult that none of those examined 
may conform precisely to the set requirements. In respect of 
some classes of tests this is, in fact, desirable, as what is being 
sought is an average of group capacity, and if any considerable 
percentage exhibit a capacity greater than can be measured by 
the tests set there arises an element of doubt as to the accuracy 
of the average combined score, since - some of those contributing 
to it have obviously greater mental ability than can be measured 
by the particular scale used. 

Once, however, tests have been applied to the supposititious 
thousand expert engineers, and the performance of each of 
them in each test has been given its proper place in the scale, 
and an average struck, there has come into existence a prelimi- 
nary standard; which, however, before being offered for general 
use in the testing of engineering students and others, must 
first be tried out by experimental application on as many in- 
dividuals and groups as are available, and their performance 
with reference to the standard checked up by all other means 
available. It may be, and quite frequently is, the case that this 



STANDARDS FOR MENTAL TESTS ^J3^ 

preliminary try-out of a standard results in the elimination of 
some of its elements, the modification of others, and the neces- 
sary preparation of a new series of tests based upon the altered 
standards. But in this fashion, in the course of time and as the 
result of the combined effort of many trained minds, there is at 
last set up a standard which is substantially universal in its 
application, and by which it may readily be determined whether 
or not any particular individual possesses the mental capacity 
and particular abilities that have been found to be necessary if 
he is to develop into a competent engineer. 

As psychological tests are more and more widely applied 
and there is consequently accumulated an increasing volume 
of data which can be collected, classified, and compared, stand- 
ards become either more firmly established as a result of experi- 
ence or subject to modification in the light of the wider range of 
knowledge. In science nothing is final. What psychology 
offers to-day is a method of mental tests, the soundness of which ^** 

in principle is unchallenged, though the application in detail fa& \J 
of these principles is subject to constant improvement and re- 
finement. 



CHAPTER V 
DIFFERENT TYPES OF MENTAL TESTS 

The character of any mental test or series of tests is deter- 
mined primarily, of course, by the purpose for which the test 
is applied, and, secondarily, by the known or obvious mental 
limitations of the individual under examination. 

Mental tests thus classify themselves, in the first instance, 
into as many different classes as there are specific purposes to be 
served by their use, particular kinds or classes of mental ability 
and capacity to be ascertained, or degrees of previously known 
mental limitations. Each one of these classifications cuts across 
all other classifications at some point, so that it is, as a matter of 
practice, impossible to tabulate or catalogue mental tests in 
such a way as to separate them into sharply defined or perma- 
nently detached groups or classes. 

Broadly, all mental tests subdivide at first into tests devised 
for use with persons of normal mental capacity and develop- 
ment and tests for intelligences that are not fully developed. 
This is, perhaps, the chief permanent and fixed classification 
of intelligence tests that can be made, for in a group of tests for 
the sub-normal mind would be included the entire series of 
tests adapted for the examination of the mental powers of chil- 
dren of all ages, from earliest infancy to maturity. In fact, the' 
standard method of rating or grading adults of undeveloped or 
sub-normal intelligence is to classify them by their mental age 
as compared with the performance of normal children of the 
same age. 

Thus, a man or woman of twenty -five who is able to make a 
high score in tests which are passed successfully by normal chil- 

41 



DIFFERENT TYPES OF MENTAL TESTS 45 

dren of eight, but who fails when subjected to tests which a nor- 
mal child of ten should pass easily, is rated approximately as 
of mental age nine. 

Cutting across this classification is the arbitrary classification 
of tests adopted in the psychological work of the United States 
Army, in which every officer and enlisted man is classified as 
to his relative intelligence by means of scientific mental tests. 
The Army tests are of three principal kinds. There is a serielT 
of tests, known as the Alpha, designed to measure the intelli- 
gence of individuals who can read and write the English language. 
For those who are either illiterate or whose ability to read 
or write is confined to some language other than English, there 
is the Beta series of tests. These may register as high a degree 
of intelligence as the Alpha tests; the results are merely not ex- 
pressed in terms of the English language. The third classifica- 
tion in the Army is the individual tests, applied to those who fail 
to make a satisfactory score under either the Alpha or the Beta 
tests. This is, in its Army application, a system of tests for 
the sub-normal adult intelligence. Thus the broad classifica- 
tion first set forth above, in substance actually holds in the class- 
ification of the Army tests. 

Under each of these two broad classifications, and particu- 
larly under the first (since in general, every -day practice it is of 
little service to undertake to analyze minutely the capacities 
and limitations of the sub-normal mind except in the application 
of these tests to growing children) there are many possible sub- 
divisions of mental tests, based upon the particular mental 
qualities which it is desired to measure. 

First and most useful generally are general, intelligence tests, 
which must usually be subdivided into a series of related tests. 
Then, for varying purposes, such as the examination of candi- 
dates for particular classes of employment requiring special 
ability or capacity, there may be applied speed tests, accuracy 
tests, perception tests, coordination tests, memory tests, mathe- 
matical tests, and a wide variety of others. These are tests which 



46 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

primarily measure the subject's ability to perform certain 
specific acts under pre-determined conditions, the determination 
of capacity in excess of that actually demonstrated under test 
depending upon the facility and accuracy with which the sub- 
ject responds to the conditions of these tests. Of course,** 
every scientific mental test is based upon the performance of 
certain acts, since it is only through action of some sort, whether 
by speech, writing, or the performance of a manual operation, 
that any one is able to express his mental ability at any 
time. 

But while it is relatively a simple matter to devise tests that 
satisfactorily indicate the subject's possession of the more 
obvious mental powers indicated by such tests as those last 
listed above, there is another class of mental tests, designed 
primarily to indicate or determine the possession of the more 
abstract qualities, the manifestation of which through the 
individual's simple and ordinary actions is less obvious to the 
untrained observer. This is the class of tests that are designed 
to measure the degree in which an individual possesses such 
qualities as moral sense, form perception, the power to reason 
from cause to effect, poetic discrimination, ability to under- 
stand complicated instructions, judgment, sense of the rights' 
relationship of things and ideas. It is as important, if one is to 
arrive at a true measure of any individual's mental capacity, 
that he be tested as to his possession of these more or less 
abstract qualities, as it is to determine his possession of concrete 
abilities. In other words, the normal mind of an intelligent 
adult is capable of dealing intelligently with ideas and abstrac- 
tions. The mentality that does not respond with a certain 
degree of readiness to ideal conceptions is to that extent sub- 
normal. The only possible way of determining the possession 
of unusual or super-normal mental capacity is by means of the 
demonstration that its possessor grasps readily and responds 
unhesitatingly to the presentation of abstract concepts. 

The demonstration itself must, of course, be concrete. Un- 



DIFFERENT TYPES OF MENTAL TESTS ^47_ 

less the individual possessing extraordinary mental power is 
a'ble, as Kipling phrases it, to 



. . . . press the logic of a fact 

To its ultimate conclusion in unmitigated act. 

it is of no social consequence whatever that he may possess the 
mental catholicity of a Shakespeare. There is no place in the 
modern world for "mute, inglorious Miltons." 

Indeed, it may be questioned whether a "mute, inglorious 
Milton" ever existed. The world is full of people who regard 
themselves as "unappreciated." Everyone is familiar with the 
unfortunate type that is forever seeking sympathy, constantly 
on the lookout for friendly shoulders on which to sob out the 
sad tale of the world's harshness. Under psychological tests 
the preponderant majority of this type of individual is clearly 
demonstrated to be mentally deficient or sub-normal in some 
important respect. The occasional individual of normal mental 
capacity who fails to demonstrate that capacity by the per- 
formance of specific acts is merely mentally lazy. In other 
words, it may be set forth as a sound conclusion, capable of 
scientific proof, that (mental capacity in the healthy, normal in- 
dividual always finds means of expressing itself in concrete and 
socially useful ways, ' whenever its possessor actually desires 
so to utilize his mental powers,, 

In the devising and preparation of tests intended to measure 
the less obvious of the mental powers, a considerable degree of 
ingenuity and the greatest amount of scientific care and tech- 
nical skill is required. To the person untrained in psychology 
tests designed to measure the possession of the more abstract 
powers frequently look childish, if not positively silly. Since 
it is essential;, in the case of Army officers and men, to deter- 
mine as nearly as it may be done by simple and easily applied 
tests their possession of a wide variety of mental qualities, some 
of the elements of the Army Alpha test appear to the concrete 



48 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

type of mind to be futile, if not absurd. But any comprehen- 
sive system of mental tests must include, as there have been 
included in the Mentimeter tests presented in this volume, a 
considerable proportion which do not on their face appear to 
be directed toward the disclosure of the ordinary and useful 
mental capacities. It is of vital importance, if the results of any 
given series are to give an adequate picture of the actual abilities 
and possibilities of the subject examined, that tests of this char- 
acter be included among them. 

Each of the possible classes of mental tests may be set to any- 
one of an infinite number of standards. General intelligence 
tests, for example, may be set to the standard of the average 
university graduate, so that the result when applied to any 
individual gives a fair estimate of the subject's intelligence as 
compared with that of those who have demonstrated the pos- 
session of mental capacity sufficient to complete satisfactor- 
ily a university course. Or the standard may be that of the aver- 
age lawyer, the average high school pupil, the average normal 
child of any age or school grade, the average skilled mechanic, 
the average labourer, or the average child below the age of 
speech. And, in practice, what is measured is, after all, general 
intelligence. 

Intelligence, as has been frequently pointed out, while it 
does not depend upon the individual's ability to read and write, 
is so generally accompanied by the definite and intimate knowl- 
edge of the symbols which we call letters, words, and figures, and 
of their meaning, that in the great majority of cases in which it is 
desired to apply the test of intelligence this can best be done, or 
at least most readily be done, by the use of these familiar sym- 
bols; in other words, by tests which involve only the acts of 
reading and writing. If intelligence may be defined as the 
intellectual power of adaptation to environment, a complete 
test of intelligence determines the individual's ability to recog- 
nize the situation in which he finds himself, perceive his own re- 
lation to the situation, analyze it, and arrive at a conclusion as 



DIFFERENT TYPES OF MENTAL TESTS 49_ 

to what he should do next; then put that conclusion into effect 
by means of a concrete act. Thus one may learn a great deal 
about an individual's mental capacity by observing his conduct 
when he misses a train. But since it is not practicable to apply 
this method of inquiry in every case, the next best thing is to 
ask the question, "What would you do if you missed your 
train?" To ask this question of a subject is next best to seeing 
him in such a situation. He must exercise his sense of reality 
upon it, size it up and plan his reaction. 

Since all life is made up of situations in which the individual 
places or finds himself and from which he must extricate him- 
self, and since the broader the mental capacity, the more easily 
will the individual meet situations as they arise, the ideal mental 
test is one that presents a situation such as does or might occur 
in real life, and requires the subject to extricate himself, or at 
least to indicate his first and immediate impulse toward action 
should such a situation arise. 

Since the purpose of mental tests is primarily to determine 
intelligence rather than the possession of physical qualities, 
it is conceivable that, in many situations, properly devised ques- 
tions may give a fairer view of the subject's mental capacity 
than would observation of the same individual in action in a 
real situation. Thus a person of the highest intelligence and 
mental capacity might be deficient in physical courage, so that 
if we could observe him in action on unexpectedly meeting a 
highway robber armed with a revolver we might be able to 
deduce from his actions absolutely no criteria upon which to 
form a sound judgment as to his mental powers; the same sub- 
ject, asked the question, "What would you do if held up by a 
footpad?" might exhibit in his answer unusual ability to per- 
ceive quickly and reason soundly to an intelligent conclusion — 
in other words, to demonstrate his possession of considerable 
mental capacity. 

All properly constructed mental tests are, therefore, in effectT 
attempts to reproduce or project upon a laboratory scale situa- 



50 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

tions such as the subject is or may be called upon to meet in 
actual life, It is obvious that ability to analyze quickly and 
"propound immediately the correct course of action when the 
situation presented is unusual and outside the range of every- 
day experience indicates clearly the possession of mental ability 
greater than is required to meet only ordinary and familiar 
situations. The theory of the mental test as a reproduction in 
miniature of actual situations is thus commeDted on by Daniel 
W. La Rue: 

"It is useless to ask a savage what he would do if he missed 
his train, or an old bachelor what he would do when the baby 
cried, or a green soldier how he will behave when a shell bursts 
near him. Further, just which of many millions of situations 
are so important, or so typical, or so closely correlated with a 
web of others, similar or dissimilar, that they should be admitted 
among the select few that form a test? The answer is coming 
as a slow deposit from the stream of experience and experi- 
ment." 

Doctor La Rue, pursuing the same theme, points out with 
sound philosophy the necessity for grading mental tests to fit 
the apparent or previously known mental level of the subject. 
¥,P! ^"We must beware how we use a high-level test to measure 
low-level intelligence. If our scales are set to weigh nothing 
less than a hundred pounds or upward, we cannot tell accu- 
rately the weight of an eighty -pound man. In particular, since 
devisers of tests are usually expert in the use of literary symbols, 
and since ordinary test conditions limit seriously the possible 
variety of responses open to the subject, we slide easily into the 
belief that a dextrous manipulation of symbols is the prime 
display of intelligence. No doubt it is true that in an ideally 
developed brain the language centres (tracts) are well webbed 
up with every other trait-tract. Ideally, to experience any- 
thing is to be able to utter it. But the stammering lover is 
matched by the stammering thinker, and there certainly may be 
intelligent action without the power to put it adequately into 



DIFFERENT TYPES OF MENTAL TESTS 51 

words. Probably Caesar is the only great general who could de- 
scribe a battle as finely as he could plan it or fight it. Words 
without deeds, deeds without words: we must be prepared for 
both. Our old test question, 'Why should we judge a person 
by what he does rather than by what he says? ' applies to the test 
itself." 

Because of the fact that there is a percentage of persons who, 
either through unfamiliarity with the English language or lack 
of skill in expressing themselves through word and number 
symbols, do not respond to tests based on the use of words, 
any comprehensive scheme of mental tests must contain a pro- 
portion of tests the response to which may be made without the 
use of written, printed, or spoken words. Of such a nature were 
the Army Beta tests, already referred to, and there will be found 
in the Mentimeter tests presented in this volume a considerable 
number of forms that fall into this class of tests. To the person 
accustomed to dealing chiefly with words and ideas, it is not 
always readily apparent that proof of a high degree of intelli- 
gence can be obtained by means of tests which do not employ 
these familiar symbols. As a mattter of practical fact, how- 
ever, results which check up very closely with every other 
means of determining the subject's intelligence were quite 
uniformly obtained through the use of the Beta tests in the 
Army, and similar success has been achieved through the appli- 
cation of tests of the same general character in industry and 
education. 

There is another general class of tests to which only passing 
reference need be made here. This is the class of trade tests, in 
which by a combination of oral examination and specific per- 
formance the precise ability or degree of skill of the subject 
in a given occupation or trade is determined. Although fre- 
quently confused with psychological tests, this class of tests does 
not properly come within the scope of mental tests in the sense 
of being chiefly measurements of intelligence. It has been 
found, however, in practice that the individual's native intelli- 



52 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

gence or inherent mental capacity has, in most occupations, a 
very decided bearing upon the degree of skill which he or she 
can attain, even in the simpler mechanical operations. Because 
of this fact, as well as because the value of trade tests in industry 
is of increasing importance, some of the principles underlying 
the construction of trade tests and their application are dis- 
cussed briefly in a later chapter. 



CHAPTER VI 
MENTAL TESTS IN THE ARMY 

The United States of America entered the World War under 
conditions of emergency which demanded the maximum of 
efficiency in the work of military preparation, with the minimum 
of effort. France was virtually broken; England was tired; 
Russia was demoralized and disrupted, and Italy was doing 
very little more than holding her own. The mere drilling and 
conditioning of the nearly three millions of men which the Na- 
tion had called to arms were not sufficient to meet the require- 
ments of the task assumed. America was expected to develop, 
almost overnight, a righting force capable of meeting and defeat- 
ing a Teutonic military machine which had come to be known 
as the most powerful and skillful in the world. 

The gravity of the situation forbade experiments with hit- 
or-miss methods. It was imperative that no round pegs be 
placed in square holes. Each one of those nearly three million 
American soldiers had to be placed where he would be of greatest 
service. Some simple, quick method of distribution was 
needed. It was perfectly obvious that these men could not be 
equally good material for soldiers or officers. Out of so great a 
number it was reasonably certain that men could be found es- 
pecially qualified to perform each one of the particular tasks 
which the infinitely complex scheme of organization of a modern 
army requires. 

It was in accordance with the law of probabilities that there 
would be contained in this mass of soldier material men highly 
skilled in every one of the more than seven hundred distinct 
and specific trades and handicrafts in which artisans were needed 

53 



54 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

for the successful maintenance of the fighting forces in the field. 
The dragnet of the selective service system was certain to gather 
in its meshes men who were natural leaders and many more men 
who could only follow. From every city block, every cross- 
roads hamlet, every village street would come those who could 
teach and those who could only learn. It was inevitable, 
moreover, that in this huge aggregation of human beings there 
would be a percentage of the wholly unteachable, the mentally 
stunted, fit only to be hewers of wood and drawers of water and 
sure to be a detriment and handicap to any military organiza- 
tion whatsoever. 

In a lesser degree the same generalizations applied to the 
human raw material admitted to the various officers' training 
courses; even though a fairly high minimum of educational at- 
tainment was required of all candidates, there was bound to be a 
wide range of military value between the best and the poorest 
of this officer material. 

Psychology, the science that deals with the human mind, 
offered the only possible short-cut to the ultimate goal of the 
placement of every individual in the Army at the point where 
his efficiency would be greatest. The processes of the selective 
draft had weeded out the larger portion of the physically unfit. 
The draft questionnaire, as finally revised, provided for a rough 
preliminary classification of men according to their own esti- 
mates of themselves. But something more was needed — some 
system for passing the entire Army, officers and men, through a 
series of graduated sieves, as it were, so cunningly devised, and 
operated with such scientific precision as to tag, label, and index 
each and every one so exactly that as little as possible would be 
left for experience to disclose as to his qualifications for his 
particular part of the Army's job. 

On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress declared the 
existence of a state of war with Germany. On that same date 
there was being held in Boston a meeting of a group of psy- 
chologists known as the "Experimentalists," among whom was 






MENTAL TESTS IN THE ARMY 55 

Dr. Robert M. Yerkes, president of the American Psychological 
Association. On receipt of news that America was at last at 
war, all regular business of the meeting was suspended and those 
present resolved themselves into an informal committee to 
consider ways and means by which the psychologists of America 
could best serve their country. 

On the evening of that day, as the result of many confer- 
ences, the president of the association asked the council to 
authorize him to appoint committees on various phases of ap- 
plied psychology for the purpose : first, of enlisting the coopera- 
tion of every trained psychologist in America, including the en- 
tire membership of the American Psychological Association; and, 
second, of determining precisely what service the psychologists 
could best perform. The proposal met with an immediate 
response and Doctor Yerkes and his committee went to work. 

The Army General Staff was skeptical at first, but Doctor 
Yerkes and his associates overcame this skepticism and by 
midsummer of 1917 the Division of Psychology of the Medical 
Department of the United States Army, with Doctor Yerkes 
at its head with the rank of major, was actively functioning, 
and the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army 
had been established and was demonstrating, to the surprise of 
the General Staff and the War Department, the possibility of 
determining by scientific means the relative military value and 
proper military assignment of the officers and men of the Army. 
By the end of 1917 psychology, as applied to war, had so far 
justified itself that the Surgeon General reported complete suc- 
cess in achieving the desired results, which he stated, concisely, 
to be: (a) to aid in segregating the mentally incompetent, (b) 
to classify men according to their mental ability, and (c) to 
assist in selecting competent men for responsible positions. 

The programme of the Division of Psychology of the Medical 
Department included mental tests for all recruits during a two- 
weeks detention period. These intelligence ratings, as they were 
officially termed, aimed to aid : 



56 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

(1) In the discovery of men whose superior intelligence sug- 
gested their consideration for advancement; 

(2) In the prompt selection and assignment to development 
battalions of men who were so inferior mentally that they were 
suited only for special assignments ; 

(3) In forming organizations of uniform mental strength 
where such uniformity was desired; 

(4) In forming organizations of superior mental strength 
where such superiority was demanded by the nature of the work 
to be performed; 

(5) In selecting suitable men for various army duties or for 
special training in colleges or technical schools; 

(6) In the early formation of training groups within a com- 
pany in order that each man might receive instruction and drill 
according to his ability to profit thereby; 

(7) In the early recognition of slow-thinking minds which 
might otherwise be mistaken for stubborn or disobedient char- 
acters; 

(8) In eliminating from the army those men whose low-grade 
intelligence rendered them either a burden or a menace to the 
service. 

In three systems of tests in use between May 1 and October 
1, 1918, in the United States Army, approximately one million 
three hundred thousand men were tested. 

The test first applied to all, men and officers, who could read 
English, was known as the "Alpha." This was a group test. 
It required only fifty minutes and could be given to groups as 
large as 500. The test material was so arranged that each of 
its 212 questions might be answered without writing, merely 
by underlining, crossing out or checking. The papers later were 
scored by means of stencils, so that nothing was left to the 
personal judgment of those who did the scoring. The mental 
rating which resulted therefore was wholly objective. 

The "Beta" test was used for foreigners and illiterates. It 
could be given to groups of from 75 to 200 and required approxi- 



MENTAL TESTS IN THE ARMY 57 

mately fifty minutes. Success in the Beta test did not depend 
upon knowledge of English, as the instructions were given en- 
tirely by pantomime and demonstration. It measured general 
intelligence through the use of concrete or picture material 
instead of the printed language. It also was scored by stencils 
and yielded an objective rating. 

Both the Alpha and the Beta tests were known as Group 
tests because of the large number of men to whom they could 
be given simultaneously. Those men who failed in the Group 
tests were given Individual tests in which the instructions were 
given by a trained psychologist working with one soldier at a 
time in a quiet private office. These Individual tests were of 
two sorts: one for men who understood English, and the other 
for men without education and frequently without knowledge 
of the English language. The Individual tests served as a 
check upon the Group tests which had preceded them. No man 
was recommended for discharge or for labour battalions until 
after he had been individually examined by a psychologist 
who spent from a half hour to an hour and a half with him, 
attempting to determine whether or not the results of the 
Group tests could be relied upon. 

To determine the relative intelligence of five hundred men 
in fifty minutes by a method so completely objective that 
no part of the resulting classification is based on the individual 
judgment or opinion of either the examiner or any of the men 
themselves is certainly a practical application of psychological 
science. Simple as the Alpha test was, its practical working 
out and reduction to an exact scientific formula was the work 
of hundreds of highly trained minds for many months. In its 
concrete application it looks like a children's game, but the 
results are so reliable as to be almost uncanny in the precision 
with which they tally with the conclusions reached in the same 
cases as a result of long and intimate observation. 

(For full details of the Alpha test the reader is referred to 
Appendix B to this volume.) 



58 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

The highest score a man could make in the Alpha test was 212. 
This is an absolutely perfect score, a correct answer or response 
to every one of the 212 questions or examples; but any man who 
made a score above 135 was given the highest possible rating. 
Grade A, in the mental schedule. There were seven ratings in 
all: A, above 135; B, which included those making 104 to 135; 

C, plus, which took in those down to a score of 75 ; C, for those 
scoring from 45 to 74; C, minus, for those with scores of 25 to 
44; D, for the ones who gave from 15 to 24 correct answers; and 

D, minus, for those who were unable to answer correctly more 
than 14 out of the 212 questions. 

Now for the proof ! Here is an official report of one of many 
comparisons made between the results of the psychological tests 
and the actual observations and personal knowledge of men by 
their officers. 

The commanding officers of ten different organizations, rep- 
resenting various arms of service in one camp, were asked to 
designate (a) the most efficient men in their organizations, (b) 
the men of average value and (c) the men so inferior that they 
were barely able to perform their duties. The officers had been 
with these men from six to twelve months and knew them ex- 
ceptionally well. The total number of men rated was 965, about 
equally divided between the three classifications. 

After the officers' ratings had been made, the men were given 
the Alpha test, and the comparison of results showed that the 
average score recorded in this test by those men the officers had 
graded as "best" was approximately twice as high as those the 
officers termed their poorest men. Of men scoring C, minus, 
in the Alpha test, 70 per cent, were those classed by the officers 
as their poorest men and only 4.4 per cent, of those ranked with 
the ones whom the officers regarded as best. Of all the men 
whose scores were above C, plus, 55.5 per cent, had been graded 
by their officers as their best men and only 15 per cent, as 
among their poorest soldiers. 

In another camp 765 men of a regular infantry regiment, who 



MENTAL TESTS IN THE ARMY 59 

had been with their officers for several months, were graded by 
their officers in five classes, according to their practical military 
value. Seventy-six of these men were rated either A or B by 
the Alpha test; all but nine of these had been graded "one" and 
"two" by their officers, and none of them had been placed in 
the lowest grade. 

Out of 238 of these soldiers who scored D or D, minus, in the 
psychological test, all but eight had been placed in the three 
lowest grades by their officers. The psychological ratings and 
the ratings of the company commanders were identical in 49.5 
per cent, of all cases. In 88.4 per cent, of the cases the agree- 
ment was within one step, and in only seven tenths of 1 per 
cent, was there a disagreement between the psychological test 
results and the officers' ratings of more than two steps. 

Here is another comparison. Sixty company commanders 
each named his ten best and ten poorest privates. Without 
any knowledge on the part of the psychological examiners in 
this or in any other of the comparative tests as to the ratings the 
officers had given the men, the Alpha gave the grade of D or 
D, minus, to. 57.5 per cent, of those picked as the poorest and 
placed all but a fractional percentage of 1,118 men in the same 
classes in which they had been placed by their officers on the 
basis of observation and experience. 

Those who failed in the Group tests were given individual 
attention by the clinical psychologist. The examination here 
was frequently by the Stanford Revision of the Binet test or 
by the Yerkes-Bridges Point Scale. For men who could not 
understand the instructions and the language necessary for 
taking these two tests a series of specially devised performance 
tests, consisting chiefly of picture puzzles, cubes, squares, cres- 
cents, and other forms cut from wood, were provided. The 
assumption was that a man who has not intelligence enough to 
place a triangular block in a perfectly obvious triangular hole, 
or to piece together the six or seven parts which, when properly 
assembled, make up the figure of a man or a ship is so hopelessly 



60 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

deficient mentally as to be not only of no value, but a positive 
detriment to the Army. In many instances fully grown men 
with the mentality of children seven or eight years old were thus 
weeded out from among the recruits who had successfully passed 
the physical tests and been inducted into the service. Men mak- 
ing the D, minus, or E score in either the Alpha or the Beta tests 
were graded as of very inferior intelligence; D, minus, men were 
held to be fit for regular service but the E men were recom- 
mended for service in the development battalions or for dis- 
charge. 

About 15 per cent, of all the soldiers examined were scored 
in the D class. They were ranked as of inferior intelligence, 
likely to be fairly good soldiers but slow in learning, short on 
initiative, requiring more than the usual amount of supervision, 
and unable to rise above the grade of private. Most D, minus, 
and E men were below the mental age of ten years; few men 
making a psychological score of D had the intelligence of the 
average normal fourteen-year-old boy. About 20 per cent, 
of the 1,500,000 soldiers examined by the psychological method 
made the score of C, minus, which indicated low average in- 
telligence. These men were good soldiers, however, and did 
satisfactory work in routine matters. The C men, those of 
average intelligence, included about 25 per cent, of the drafted 
men and furnished a fair proportion of non-commissioned ma- 
terial. 

Those in the C, plus, rating, which indicated high average 
intelligence, included from about 15 to 18 per cent, of all the 
soldiers examined. This group provided not only a large 
amount of non-commissioned officer material, but an occa- 
sional soldier whose qualities of leadership and power to com- 
mand fitted him for a commission. 

A man who made a score of B in the Alpha test was graded 
as of superior intelligence. Between 8 and 10 per cent, of all 
soldiers examined made the B score. This group included a large 
proportion of men of the commissioned-officer type and a very 






MENTAL TESTS IN THE ARMY 61 

large proportion of men fit for the higher non-commissioned 
officers' details. 

Only 4 to 5 per cent, of the men in the Army made the 
score of A in the Alpha test, which means that they were able 
to answer in the given time, correctly, more than 135 of the 212 
questions in the test. These were men of very superior intel- 
ligence — indeed, of marked intellectuality. Men of this mental 
type who had any leadership ability whatsoever made the 
various grades of commissioned officers. 

The practical application of the psychological tests covered 
a very wide range. The highest intelligence among enlisted 
men was required in the Field Artillery, Machine-Gun Batta- 
lions, and Signal Corps. Men of the lowest grade of intelligence 
served as labourers, teamsters, and in other non-combatant ser- 
vice, while men only slightly below the average performed the 
duties of an infantryman satisfactorily. 

By the application of the mental tests it was found possible 
to bring up the average of particular companies, regiments, and 
detachments, by exchanging men of high mentality from one 
regiment for an equal number of men of the lower mental grade 
from another regiment in which the average of ability was low. 
A great saving of time and energy was made possible by being 
able to determine that a particular soldier, on the strength 
of his psychological score, was qualified to become a good 
artilleryman, machine gunner, or signal-corps man, or what 
not. If only in preventing the loading up of combatant 
divisions with men qualified only for the service of supply, 
the work of the psychologists made possible the elimination 
of incalculable delay in getting our overseas contingent ready 
to fight. 

The intelligence tests used in the Army were admittedly 
imperfect at many points. They were especially designed for 
and adapted to the testing of a very much larger group than is 
ever likely again to be subjected to any single test or series of 
tests, and so, for most civilian purposes, these Alpha and Beta 



62 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

tests cannot be taken as a fair or complete system of ascertain- 
ing all the facts which mental tests ought to disclose. But 
at the time and for their particular purpose they functioned 
admirably, as all persons familiar with the result obtained will 
concede. 



CHAPTER VII 
PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS IN EDUCATION 

Just as intelligence tests in the Army have developed a new 
appreciation of the significance of analyses of intelligence as a 
means of selecting the right man for the right place in the mili- 
tary machine, so have scientifically devised mental tests em- 
phasized the possibilities of more rapid and satisfactory progress 
in our educational activities. 

The application of psychology to the measurement of teach- 
ing methods in institutions of learning is of comparatively re- 
cent origin. Up to ten years ago we had been able to make very 
little use of tests for the measurement of intelligence in schools, 
colleges, and universities. We were fighting blindly, as it were, 
to overcome the problems which faced us at every turn. We 
had no concrete guide, for instance, in our efforts to select 
proper courses of study for children and adults of various mental 
capacities, nor could we decide upon uniform efforts toward the 
disposal of such questions as vocational guidance, schoolroom 
procedure, juvenile delinquency, promotional schemes, retarda- 
tion of children, and the proper treatment of sub-normal and 
gifted pupils. 

The retardation problem, for example, has become serious. 
Statistics indicate that from one third to one half of the children 
in the public schools of the United States fail to advance with 
the speed expected of them. Ten to 15 per cent, are re- 
tarded two years or more. Five to 8 per cent, do not come 
within three years of the state of development set as a standard. 
More than 10 per cent, of the $500,000,000 spent every year 
in this country for school instruction purposes is used for re- 

63 



64 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

teaching children what they already have been "taught" but 
have failed to learn. 

Many efforts toward reform have been fruitful but disappoint- 
ing. The supposition that evils in existing systems could be 
completely cured by adopting new methods of instruction, al- 
tering promotion methods, giving increased attention to chil- 
dren's health, and adoption of other innovations, was less effect- 
ive, experiments have shown, than was generally anticipated 
by educators who put these theories into operation. These 
reforms were less successful than their authors expected they 
would be, for the reason that the reformers fell into the error of 
assuming that, under the right conditions, all children would 
be equally, or almost equally capable of making satisfactory 
progress. They failed to take into account the fact that there 
are more than two classes of school children and that they can- 
not be graded merely as "feeble-minded" and "normal." There 
are all degrees of intelligence, ranging from idiocy on the one 
hand to genius on the other, and any efforts toward improve- 
ment of conditions must be applied with full recognition of such 
differences. 

There are wide differences among normal human beings in 
mental inheritance and these differences affect to a marked 
degree the capacity of men, women, and children to profit from 
instruction. Just as the Army had to allow for differences in 
mental capacity, so must the schools differentiate courses of study 
in such a way that each pupil will be allowed to study in a man- 
ner that is easy for him, whether that manner be rapid or slow. 

Dr. Lewis M. Terman, Professor of Education at Stanford 
University, in California, who writes with more authority than 
any other author on the application of psychological tests in 
schools, emphasizes the fact that little progress can be made to- 
ward the correction of present evils until we acquire a more 
scientific knowledge of the material with which we deal. This 
phase of the problem perhaps suggests the only practical way to- 
ward solution. 



PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS IN EDUCATION 65 

Intelligence tests in schools and higher institutions have been 
given a wide range of application, but in virtually every instance 
the results have justified the claim of superiority for these tests 
over other methods of classifying students. In some instances 
positively startling developments have been noted. 

Of particular interest, from the viewpoint of educators who 
already are convinced of the value of intelligence rating in 
educational institutions, is the report of experiments at Public 
School No 64, New York City. The object was to select, 
group, and train a number of children of very superior intel- 
ligence, in an attempt toward the solution of the grading prob- 
lem. 

The experiment was suggested by a survey made several 
years ago by a psychologist employed by the Public Education 
Association. Among a number of so-called average children 
was W. H., a boy. W. H.'s mental age measured about two 
years ahead of his age in years. His physical development was 
superior to the average child of his grade, consequently he be- 
came an interesting subject to study. He was promoted as 
soon as he acquired the essential features of the work in each 
grade, and, without any conscious effort on his part, he ac- 
complished the work of nine grades in two years. W. H. was 
especially fond of athletics and outdoor sports. He took his 
school work as a matter of course and showed no indication of 
special interest in books or study. By the time he had reached 
the fifth grade several other boys of approximately the same 
ability had been discovered. 

One day the psychologist, the principal, and one of the as- 
sistants discussed the possibility of forming a class composed of 
children similarly gifted. Special classes for defective chil- 
dren, with a course of study adapted to their needs, had been 
in existence for some time. Why not organize special classes 
for children at the other end of the scale, composed of those 
showing the highest grade of intelligence? Surely these chil- 
dren, society's greatest assets, were entitled to progress at the 



66 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

speed that was desirable and normal to them. If defective 
children of ungraded classes were worthy of a course of study 
peculiarly adapted to their limitations, certainly an enriched 
curriculum must be provided to meet the needs of children 
whose capabilities extended to the highest degree of attainment. 

The initial selection of children was made from the 5A class 
of W. H.'s associates, from other fifth- and sixth -grade classes 
in the school, and from similar grades of Public School No. 15, 
a neighbouring school for girls. The aim was to choose an 
equal number of boys and girls from four or five grades. The 
selection was limited to grades 4B through 6B. The basis of 
selection was determined by the following factors : 

1 — The age-grade standard was considered. Those children 
were selected who were below the normal age for the grade and 
whose school records showed a standing of general excellence 
for successive terms. 

2 — The evidence of superior ability as displayed in oral recita- 
tion during visits made by the psychologist and the assistant to 
the principal. 

3 — An analytical inspection of school record cards. 

4 — Two boys, H. R. and R. P., had received prizes in Wana- 
maker's drawing competitions. Both of these boys passed the 
required intelligence tests. 

5 — A few interesting incidents were the means of discovering 
some other eligible candidates. 

One Sunday evening, while the teacher who later became the 
instructor of this new special class was visiting the Christodora 
House, a neighbouring settlement, the leader of the evening hour 
asked the children the difference between God and guard. 
A boy, E. R., defined the words in such concise and perfect 
English that the attention of the visitors became centred on 
him. Later he was promoted from a school he was attending 
to Public School No. 64 and was admitted to the class of chil- 
dren of superior intelligence. 

E. R. was a fatalist. He told an interested visitor, who 



PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS IN EDUCATION 67 

questioned him as to how lie caine to be admitted to the class, 
that it was fate that he was chosen. He said he had been in- 
different about attending the "Children's Hour" at which his 
ability had been noticed, but that his brother had urged him to 
go. "You see," said E. R., "if I hadn't gone I might never 
have been chosen for this class." 

A bright, aggressive-looking boy entered the principal's office 
one afternoon and asked the principal if he had room in his class 
for a "bright 6 A boy." He said he lived in the district of School 
No. 64 and had heard there were classes for children of excellent 
record. His report card showed an A- A record and he was 
admitted. The final issue was determined by the showing of 
the pupils in intelligence tests devised by Dr. Lewis M. Terman, 
and by their social traits. Two children who had the necessary 
qualifications otherwise were not considered because of several 
unfavourable traits of character. 

The foregoing instances are cited to indicate some of the ways 
in which children were selected for the class. The next factor 
considered was the choice of a teacher. It was necessary that 
she show high intelligence or she would not be able to attack the 
problems which such a class would present. The principal had 
no standardized test by which to measure her ability but he was 
guided by many of the principles of general excellence that 
marked the selection of the pupils. 

From a group of eighty -four he tried to select a teacher who 
showed initiative, ability to meet new situations, both intel- 
lectually and socially, one who sympathized with and understood 
the orthodox training of these children, and who would lead them 
to follow high standards of American ideals and customs, and 
whose scholarship was superior, especially in language. All 
these virtues, in addition to a zest and zeal for the experiment, 
were embodied in Miss G. 

The next important step was to devise a curriculum for the 
class, which became known as the Terman Class, because the 
tests used in selecting it had been suggested by Doctor Terman. 



68 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

The grades that represented the first term were 4B through 
GB; the second term 6A through 7B; and the third term, 7A 
through 8B. Formal grammar and arithmetic were assigned 
sequentially as outlined in the city syllabus. The class in gen- 
eral studied contemporary history, based upon the World War, 
from newspapers and periodicals, and, whenever possible, these 
events were related to or associated with past history. Geog- 
raphy was studied in relation to history and then extended 
until the world geography as outlined in the course of study was 
acquired. 

An extended amount of reading was assigned. The supple- 
mentary lists issued by Professors Baker and Abbott, of Teachers 
College, Columbia University; the reading list of the Ethical 
Culture School; and the list issued by Doctor Leland, Director 
of Libraries, were used as guides. 

Music, drawing, and physical training were taken by the class 
as general exercises. These covered the grade requirements. 
The composition of plays, songs, and dances for special pro- 
grammes also was undertaken. The privilege of observing plants 
and live animals, their care, habits, and manner of reproduction, 
was provided in the nature-study room of the school. Some of 
the boys were given manual training in the shops of the prevoca- 
tional school after the regular session of the academic depart- 
ment. The class attended the senior assemblies of the school 
at least once a week and as many more times as the educational 
activities of the school permitted. The privileges enjoyed out- 
side the classroom educated these children socially in ways that 
few pupils of large and congested schools may experience. 

One period a week was spent in the reading and study of 
assigned subjects in the Tompkins Square Public Library. Chil- 
dren were made acquainted with all departments of the library 
and its facilities. Reference books, magazines, and newspapers 
were at their service. The children were permitted to use a 
club room in the Christodora House once a week for musical and 
social exercises. A gymnasium was at their disposal in this 






PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS IN EDUCATION 69 

institution two periods a week, and one of the Christodora 
House's workers was assigned to teach the cooking club of the 
class. Another social worker taught a quartette of the class 
how to play the violin. Two boys who showed aptitude in 
art were given additional instruction after school at the "Boys' 
Club," a neighbouring institution. The class was taken on 
excursions to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York 
Public Library, the Jumel Mansion, and Dyckman House — to 
study colonial furnishings and historical material — the Museum 
of Natural History, a sight-seeing yacht trip around Manhattan 
Island, theatre parties, campfire parties, and flower shows. 

During the first term of six months the progress ranged from 
one to four grades. No pressure of any kind was brought to 
bear. The children were allowed to advance as soon as they 
acquired the work of each grade. The younger children reaped 
the advantage of the experience of associating with those a 
trifle older. //This privilege perhaps accounted for the greater 
rate of progress by the younger pupils. During the first 
term the average progress was two and two thirds grades and 
during the subsequent terms tivo grades were accomplished each 
term. 

The suggestion, of course, is obvious, that the general ap- 
plication of psychological tests of intelligence to school children 
everywhere would reveal similar exceptional mentalities in many 
schools and classes, and that we have at last, in tests of this 
character, an accurate method of distinguishing between mere 
parrot-like ability to memorize and repeat lessons and actual 
mental capacity. That there must result, from the wider ap- 
plication of the scientific method of mental measurement, a 
general regrading of school pupils, if not indeed a general re- 
organization of existing schemes and systems of education, goes 
almost without saying. 

The use of intelligence tests for college entrance has shown sat- 
isfactory results in several institutions. In one in particular, 
the Carnegie Institute of Technology of Pittsburgh, a group of 



70 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 



the freshman girls in the Margaret Morrison Carnegie School 
for Girls, was experimented on with such success that the results 
have been widely discussed. 

All of the 114 freshmen were high school graduates. The 
first-year course, on which the instructors based their estimates 
of the students, contains the following subjects; physics, sewing, 
history, English, drawing and colour, hygiene, chemistry, foods, 
accounting, and social ethics. 

Six mental tests were used, designed to answer the following 
questions: 

(1) Can we demonstrate that we can reduce the number of 
students who are dropped for poor scholarship or placed on pro- 
bation for poor scholarship by the use of our mental tests for 
admission? 

(2) How do our mental test ratings of all the students com- 
pare with the faculty opinion about the general ability of the 
students? 

The first criterion referred only to those who were pronouncec 
as failures and dropped from college for inability to do college 
work, or placed on probation as doubtful students with twc 
thirds of the regular programme. The second criterion had refer- 
ence to the whole class, including the good students. A lettei 
was sent to all members of the faculty asking them to indicate 
the student's general ability as compared to the general ability 
of the class. A list of names, with ten numbered spaces after 
each name, was appended. The tests which agreed fairly well 
with the pooled judgment of the faculty were retained. The 
tests which failed in this regard were either improved or can- 
celled. When the returns were complete the instructor's esti- 
mate was determined for each student and was used as a criterioi 
for the tests. 

The tests were analyzed both by correlation methods referring 
to the group as a whole, and by inspection of scatter diagrams 
referring to individual students. By devising a critical score it 
was possible to arrive at a mental-test rating. The results of 



PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS IN EDUCATION 71 

this system of rating indicated, according to Prof. L. L. Thur- 
stone, of the Carnegie Institute, that: 

(a) Seven out of eleven failures could have been eliminated 
at the beginning of the year. 

(6) Eight out of seventeen students placed on probation for 
poor scholarship should have been eliminated at the beginning of 
the year. 

(c) Not one of the students who were below the critical men- 
tal-test rating was acceptable as a student. All of them should 
have been spared the discouragement which comes from failure 
and should have been advised to take up some other work. 

(d) None of the acceptable students scored below the lower 
critical mental-test rating. 

(e) All of the freshmen rated high by the faculty were above 
the average in the mental-test rating. 

(/) Mental tests have been demonstrated to constitute a useful 
criterion for admission to college. 

In October, 1918, first-year men in Brown University were 
given two series of psychological tests, an interval of several 
days separating the administration of Series I and II. Emphasis 
was placed upon thought and accuracy, rather than upon speed. 
Two hundred and ten students of the same University took the 
iVlpha test of the Army in January, 1919. Of these men, 103 
also had taken the Brown University tests, Series I and II. 
This made a comparison possible. 

Two hundred and twelve men took Series I. Both the 
average and median were 66 on the basis of 100 as a maximum 
score. One hundred and seventy-eight men, all of whom had 
taken Series I, took Series II. It was administered after the stu- 
dents had begun military training of a rigorous nature and when 
they were far from fresh. The composite score of Series I and 
Series II, made from the records of one hundred and seventy- 
eight men who had taken both tests, showed that the Brown 
University Series proved as good as a measure of scholastic 
standing as did the Army test for military fitness. J 



72 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Prof. Stephen S. Colvin, of Brown University, writing on 
these psychological tests, says that in addition to the evidence 
obtained by correlating the test results and the students' aca- 
demic marks, as to the relation between the scores of the psy- 
chological tests and academic standing, there is further indica- 
tion that the psychological tests proved of considerable value in 
showing the probable success of a student in his academic work. 

During the first half of the year, eighty students were reported 
as doing unsatisfactory work. Of these eighty students, thir- 
teen had received a score of "good" or "very good" in the 
psychological tests; fourteen had received an average score: 
while in the cases of fifty-three the score was either "poor," or 
"very poor." During the second term, thirty-four men were 
reported as doing considerably above average grade. Of those 
thus reported, five ranked "superior" in their psychological 
tests; nineteen "very good"; seven "good"; two "average"; 
and one "poor." 

Interesting results were noted in intelligence tests at the 
University of Illinois on March 6, 1919, when nearly 3,500i 
students, who were distributed in twenty -four different halls, 
were examined simultaneously. The Army test (Alpha) was 
used. Various members of the faculty, including deans, vol- 
unteered for special preparatory training to act as examiners and 
alternate examiners. It was an interesting spectacle to witness 
eminent men voluntarily in the role of students and being 
"tested." 

In a summary of the results of the tests, Dr. David Spence 
Hill says: 

" The smallness of difference between median scores of classes 
within each college of the large groups of students is insigni- 
ficant. As between freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors 
the extreme difference was less than 2 per cent, in the col- 
lege of literature, arts and sciences; less than 4 per cent. 
in the colleges of engineering, and of agriculture; about 5 per 
cent, in the colleges of commerce, and less than 3 per cent, in 



PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS IN EDUCATION 73 

the three years of the graduate school. Differences as small as 
the3e are safely to be accounted for by chance or by variations 
of one kind and another." 

The report of the value as a whole of the intelligence test, 
signed by members of the University staff, says, in part: 

"On the whole, the experiment performed by the energetic 
cooperation of nearly four thousand university people may be 
regarded as remarkably successful for the purposes intended. 
If for no other reasons, it has been worth while as a study of a 
device used already upon nearly two millions of men engaged 
as soldiers in the great historic undertaking — the World War. It 
has been a means of self-revelation to many persons on the 
campus. When the statistics are all worked out in careful 
detail we shall obtain new insight into some educational prob- 
lems." 

At Hamline University, St. Paul, Minn., the Alpha test was 
given to 74 men and 145 women, but reports on the results of the 
test are confined to 61 men and 145 women. The median for 
the men tested was 129 and 133 for women. The higher level 
for women was accounted for by the fact that there were more 
seniors and juniors among the women than among the men. The 
medians for these two classes of women were 138 and 150 re- 
spectively, but for the men in the same classes, 132 and 130 
respectively. A somewhat higher standing for women was evi- 
dent when the entire series of tests were considered, although 
the mathematical problems in the tests were harder for the 
women. 

In questions of practical judgment, disarranged sentences and 
analogies, all of which involved nimbleness of wit, the women 
showed superiority to the men. In questions of general in- 
formation, however, the men established a lead over the women, 
but of only 2.5 per cent. 

Prof. Gregory D. Walcott, who reports the tests at Ham- 
line, is not convinced that the Alpha tests, designed for military 
purposes, are the best for determining the fitness of students 



74 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

for college work. He says, however, that the degree of correla- 
tion obtained in the Hamline tests indicates that the Alpha 
tests are of tremendous value. 

Intelligence tests are being used at regular intervals at the 
University of Rochester. The method of application is de- 
scribed as follows by Louis A. Pechstein, Professor of Psychol- 
ogy at the University. 

"We call our freshmen to the campus a week early. The 
introductory week is given largely to lectures on college ethics 
and problems of study. During the first day of the week I give 
all the entrants both the Alpha and the Otis Group Intelligence 
tests. The marks and groupings are turned into the office and, 
so far as possible, we shall make up several representative classes 
of men supposedly of the same general mental make-up. 

"During the first term we shall test the entire student body 
and then begin to correlate with teachers' opinions and grade 
records. In no sense are we committed, but we shall try to 
influence our programme making and section determination by 
the testing results. Then I shall issue a report to each student 
regarding his standing, apparent strong and weak processes, 
and try to help him in his development." 

Other reports from schools, colleges, and universities indicate 
the widespread adoption of intelligence tests in determining the 
probable measure of success which a student will attain in his 
studies, or whether he is fitted, mentally, for the career he con- 
templates. 

The group tests of intelligence have demonstrated their valu€ 
in educational work to such an extent that, following the lead 
of Columbia University, a large number of prominent American 
universities and colleges are employing tests of intellectual 
ability as at least partial substitutes for the time-honoured 
college entrance examinations. Instead of requiring each pros- 
pective student to take an examination in which he would be 
required to demonstrate that he remembered the facts learnec 
in high school, the present scheme is to examine the men whe 



PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS IN EDUCATION 75 

desire to enter college by means of the psychological tests de- 
signed to measure general fitness and intelligence. The theory 
behind this movement is that men should be allowed to enter 
college provided their intelligence and mental capacity is such 
as would enable them to profit by the instruction, regardless of 
whether such men could recall the required percentage of the 
facts taught them by their high school teachers. 

This same philosophy will undoubtedly spread very widely 
through the high schools and elementary schools as well as 
through the colleges. A child should be allowed to undertake 
that work for which he is fitted by nature and intellectual ca- 
pacity, regardless of what his past academic training may have 
been. It is unreasonable to require young men who, because of 
some accident, left school early in life and have continued their 
education through their own efforts, to go back and begin with 
younger pupils a course of study, which will have very little 
practical value to them, before they are allowed to undertake the 
professional courses they desire and are capable of undertaking 
at once. The group-examination method, which is employed 
by the majority of the Mentimeter tests, has been the greatest 
possible stimulus to the employment of intelligence examina- 
tions, because of the great saving of time which it affects over 
the method of individual examinations. 



CHAPTER VIII 
MENTAL TESTS IN INDUSTRY 

The case for scientific mental tests as a prerequisite to thj 
employment of beginners in business and industry has been well 
put by Dr. Henry C. Link. In addressing a convention of 
California railroad men, Doctor Link said : 

"Would you, gentlemen, enter into a contract to buy material 
from a concern, the excellence of whose product you had grave 
reason to doubt? Would you place orders to the extent of three 
and one half millions of dollars a year, waive inspection of ma- 
terial, accept whatever was offered you, and make no effort to 
get your money's worth? You would not — not if you expected 
to hold your job. And yet, that is what you are doing with 
respect to the public education system of California. In 1916 
the railroads of this state paid in operative taxes $7,151,583. Of 
this sum 51 per cent., or $3,647,300, was used for purposes of 
public education. 

" The boys and girls sent you from the public schools you take 
into your service, sometimes after a perfunctory mental exami- 
nation, generally with none; in other words, you waive inspection, 
and then complain of the character of material after it has 
reached you and been paid for." 

It is, of course, in the case of the untried beginner in busi- 
ness or industrial life, the boy or girl fresh from school who has as 
yet had no opportunity to discover or to demonstrate his or her 
ability or capacity, that the application of scientific mental tests 
is most essential. 

The skilled worker of long experience, master of his craft or o 
one or another of the specialized mechanical operations that 






MENTAL TESTS IN INDUSTRY 77 

[enter so largely into modern industrial processes, has already 
found a definite place in the scheme of things and a simple 
trade or performance test is all that is required to indicate where 
that place is. For the present, at least, we are concerned with 
the worker of this class only long enough to point out, in pass- 
ing, that a generally adopted scheme of intelligence measure- 
ment might have disclosed the possession by any individual of 
this group of abilities that would have given him a broader field 
and a happier and more useful existence, had he and those re- 
sponsible for giving him a start in life been made aware of them 
early enough. Even to-day, when he has been engaged in his 
narrowly limited field of work for the better part of his active 
working life, he may have latent or undeveloped mental capacity 
such as would qualify him for more important, better-paid em- 
ployment were some means provided for disclosing its exist- 
ence. 

There is, in fact, no degree or kind of employment for which 
a more intelligent and satisfactory selection of employees cannot 
be made by means of properly devised mental tests, accurately 
applied, than by any other method now in use. Under the di- 
rection of Dr. Walter Dill Scott the Carnegie School of Scientific 
Salesmanship of Pittsburgh has demonstrated the usefulness of 
the scientific method when applied not only in the selection and 
training of salesmen but for the choosing of men qualified for the 
most important executive positions in large industrial and busi- 
ness establishments. A large number, possibly as many as a 
hundred, of the largest industrial corporations of America have 
already (1919) adopted in whole or in part some system of sci- 
entific mental tests for the classification and grading of present 
employees, the selection of new employees, and the filling of 
vacancies by promotion. It is the unanimous testimony, when- 
ever a properly devised system of tests has been applied in ac- 
cordance with scientific methods and without prejudice, that the 
actual saving in time and expense as well as in the disorganiza- 
tion resulting from a heavy "labour turnover" has in every 



7S MEASURE YOUR MIND 

case been highly profitable from the employer's viewpoint, while 
it almost goes without saying that the benefit to the employee 
in being accurately placed in the position in which he is best 
fitted by his natural mental endowment and capacity to func- 
tion makes for individual contentment and satisfaction and for 
steadier and presumably higher earning power than the old hit- 
or-miss method could possibly do. 

Next to the beginner in industry or business, the boy or girl 
starting his or her vocational career, the class to which the 
application of scientific mental tests is of the greatest benefit to 
employer and worker alike is the large group of unskilled, un- 
trained workers, men and women of no particular trade, the 
"floaters" and seasonal workers, who turn their hands to what- 
ever employment opportunity offers without developing especial 
skill at any one recognized trade or occupation. 

In our modern industrial system, a very considerable part of 
the personnel of our factories, shops, and stores consists of this 
class of untrained workers. They try their hands at many 
things and fail in most. They constitute the majority of those 
who respond to "Help Wanted" advertisements and are willing 
to try any sort of work; their chief occupation in life is hunting 
for jobs. 

This need not remain forever true. Because there is not in 
general use any intelligent or accurate method of determining 
whether or not any one of these unskilled, untrained workers 
possesses the elementary mental capacities requisite for a par- 
ticular sort of employment, it is not surprising that most of them 
fail to make good in the jobs into which they are indiscriminately 
shovelled. Yet the great majority of them do possess mental 
capacity of a nature and degree which, once it is ascertained, 
indicates their definite fitness for some particular sort of work 
no less than it does their definite unfitness for many other kinds 
of work which they are prone to undertake. 

Just as war conditions brought into the Army an enormous 
mass of young men whose capacity and special abilities had to be 



MENTAL TESTS IN INDUSTRY 79 

determined by scientific tests before they could be assigned to 
the places where they could most usefully serve in the military 
scheme of things, so the same exigency of war brought into the 
industries of the country, largely centred upon the production 
of munitions of war, millions of women without industrial ex- 
perience or vocational training but upon whose efforts the nation 
had mainly to rely for the output of weapons, ammunition, 
military equipment and accessories without which the Army and 
Navy could not have functioned. In a large class of plants 
engaged in munition production the chief demand was for 
sufficient muscular strength, with a slight modicum of intelli- 
gence, for the operation of automatic machinery. But in the 
vitally important work of inspecting, testing, and sorting the 
finished product of even the most highly perfected automatic 
machines and in many of the more delicate operations of as- 
sembling and adjusting devices and apparatus made up of a 
number of more or less complicated parts, intelligence and 
mental capacity of several different kinds and ranging up to 
fairly high degrees were called for. 

In a number of the larger munitions establishments scienti- 
fic mental tests were adopted for the selection and assignment to 
particular tasks of the women workers. Wherever this was 
done it was found that the output was increased, a higher aver- 
age of quality maintained, and the labour turnover greatly re- 
duced. 

In one of the largest groups of munitions plants at Bridgeport, 
Conn., there was worked out, under the direction of Dr. Henry 
C. Link, a system of scientific mental tests which checked up so 
closely with the actual results obtained by the most skilful work- 
ers that their adoption for the examination of all applicants for 
these positions resulted in very definite time and money savings 
and increase in plant efficiency. 

Two types of work, conducted side by side in the same 
room, were settled upon as the most fruitful fields for the 
first experiment. The work chosen was that of inspecting 



80 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

shells before they had been loaded, and of gauging them for 
head-thickness. This work was being done by 330 girls, two 
thirds of whom were engaged in inspection and one third in 
gauging. 

The work of inspecting shells was done at a table constructed 
like an upturned, shallow box. Upon this table was dumped a 
large box of brass shells, not yet loaded, and all of exactly the 
same kind. The work of each girl was to inspect these shells 
and throw out those that were defective. A girl would first 
gather up a handful of shells, being careful to have them all 
pointing in the same direction. Then she would put both hands 
around the shells and turn them up so as to expose their insides. 
She would then look down into every shell for dents, scratches, 
stains, and other very minute defects. When any such defect 
was discovered the shell was extracted from the pile and thrown 
into one of three or four "scrap" boxes. The entire handful 
was then turned over and the head of every shell examined for 
various defects. The shells were then held in a horizontal posi- 
tion on the left hand and allowed to roll from the pile into the 
right hand. Each shell, in rolling, exposed its lateral surface 
and was closely scrutinized for scratches, dents, oil stains, and 
other defects. The good ones were taken in the right hand and 
dropped into a pocket at the right side of the table, through 
which they fell into a box below. 

This operation required good eyesight (in order to distinguisl 
defects, which frequently were so minute as to be indistinguish- 
able to all but the best of eyes) ; keen visual discrimination (the 
ability to determine, with a few glances, which shells were 
defective); quick reaction (ability to extract, as quickly as 
seen, the defective shell and toss it into the appropriate box) ; 
accuracy of movement (ability to pick out the right shell 
from a closely held handful) ; steadiness of attention (ability 
to prevent bad shells from slipping by or unduly lengthening 
the operation). 

A set of eight tests was selected for the body of the experiment. 






MENTAL TESTS IN INDUSTRY 81 

Tlie first was a simple eyesight test. The second was a card- 
sorting test. The subject was given a pack of 49 cards, upon 
the face of each one of which from 7 to 12 letters were distributed 
promiscuously. Twenty of the cards contained the letter "O" 
and the rest did not. The subject was asked to sort these into 
two piles, those which had "O" on them and those which had 
not. The time required for this performance was taken and 
the number of errors recorded. The object of the test was to 
bring out the subject's ability to pick out the essential element 
from a more or less heterogeneous collection of elements, and also, 
in some measure, to bring out the deftness of the subject in hand- 
ling cards. 

The third test was a cancellation test. The subject was re- 
quested to cross out, with a pencil, every 7. The fourth was 
a simple " Easy Directions " test. The fifth was a number-check- 
ing test, in which the subject was asked to place a check op- 
posite every group which contained both a 7 and a 1. The 
sixth test was a tapping test, in which the subject was required 
to push down, as rapidly as possible, a telegraph key to which 
was attached a counter. The number of recorded thrusts over 
a period of one minute constituted a record for that performance. 
The seventh test was an accuracy test. This was given with 
the aid of a brass plate with nine holes, graduated in size from 
\ inch to | inch in diameter. The subject was asked to take a 
brass-pointed pencil and insert it into each hole, beginning with 
the largest and continuing through the smaller ones, until the 
pointer touched the brass side of one of them. The brass- 
pointed pencil was wired in circuit with the brass plate contain- 
ing the holes so that, whenever the brass point touched the side 
of the hole or any part of the brass plate, an electric contact 
was made which produced a click in a telephone receiver which 
the subject held to her ear. At the start of the test, the subject 
was instructed to put the brass pencil into each hole in succes- 
sion until she heard a click in her ear, when she was to start all 
over again. The speed of the subject's movements was control- 



82 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

led by a metronome, so as to allow thirty trials per minute. 
This test occupied from two to three minutes. 

The eighth test was a steadiness test. This consisted of two 
brass bars about twelve inches long, set so as to form a long, hori- 
zontal V. The subject was asked to take the brass pointer and 
pass it along between these two bars. The farther she went, 
the narrower became the space between the bars. As soon 
as the brass pointer touched one of the bars it produced a click 
in the telephone receiver. The point at which this brass pointer 
touched was then read on a scale on the lower bar. Each sub- 
ject was given fifteen trials and the last ten were averaged and 
constituted the subject's average. 

These eight tests were given to seventy-three girls, fifty-two 
of whom were inspectors and twenty-one gaugers. The scores 
in the tests were compared with the average daily work of the 
girls. This average was obtained by recording the number 
of pounds of shells inspected by the girls and the number of 
hours required for the work. It was found that the inspectors 
who inspected the largest number of shells in a given time at- 
tained the largest scores in the tests, thereby indicating the value 
of the tests in determining whether an applicant for work as an 
inspector had the mental capacity for the work. 

The same tests were given to the twenty-one girls engaged 
in gauging the head -thickness of shells. This work does not 
require the use of the eyes. The operator simply picks up a 
handful of shells and, with or without looking, tries the head of 
each shell on a gauge. The gauge is a piece of steel with two 
notches or openings. The shells which are too small pass 
through the first opening and fall into a box of rejects below. 
Those that do not fall through are tried on the second opening 
and, if they pass through, they are of the right size. If they 
fail to pass through they are too large and are thrown aside. 
The operator sits in front of her gauge and tries each shell at 
one opening and then another, just as rapidly as she can move 
her hands up and down. 






MENTAL TESTS IN INDUSTRY 83 

The tests showed, in this instance, an entirely different set 
of correlations. The comparative correlation scores follow: 



TESTS 



Card Sorting .... 

Tapping _ 

Cancellation .... 
General Intelligence . 
Number Group Checking 



INSPECTORS 


GAUGERS 


.55 


.05 


.11 


.52 


.83 


.17 


.14 


.18 


.72 


— .19 



Perfect agreement between average daily work and score in 
the test would be indicated by a correlation score of 1.00, while 
lack of relationship would be indicated by a correlation of or 
nearly 0. 

The score of the gaugers in the tapping test (.52) showed that 
they were speedier and had greater endurance. This seems rea- 
sonable since, in the operation of gauging, speed of movement 
and endurance are the chief factors. In the visual discrimina- 
tion tests, such as card sorting, cancellation, and number 
group checking, the scores of the inspectors were higher. This 
quality, however, was not necessary to successful operation in 
gauging. 

In other operations the results of these tests proved their value 
as a factor in eliminating blunders in the employment office. 
Girls who seemed, from observation, to possess the very quali- 
ties necessary for one or another operation, frequently puzzled 
their superiors by their failure to perform some highly important 
operation of their work. The eight tests would have demon- 
strated this particular inability and would have saved thousands 
of dollars lost through delay and mistakes. Similar results were 
obtained in experiments with men workers. 

In almost every industrial enterprise, clerical work of some 
kind or another is necessary, and a problem of universal interest 
has developed around the selection of clerks. The time re- 
quired to "break in" new employees runs from two weeks to two 
months, according to the nature of the routine, and this process 







84 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

invariably is very expensive. By means of standardized mental 
tests the whole process may be greatly simplified. 

In an experiment recently reported tests were given to fifty- 
two men and women engaged in clerical and near-clerical work. 
An aggregate number of 440 tests was given. The manager 
of the department had made a study of these people and had 
attempted to rate them as to their actual ability. 

The tests were classified under the head of tests for technique 
and tests for intelligence. By technique is meant the speed and 
accuracy shown by clerks in sorting tickets and papers, posting 
and adding columns of figures, indexing and filing, and in other 
routine clerical operations. The term intelligence is interpreted""" 
to designate the facility and success with which a clerk could 
master new tasks and follow directions about new work assigned 
from time to time. The clerk's technique was indicated by steadi- 
ness, arithmetic, card-sorting, and substitution-of -letters tests. 
The intelligence tests included a "hard-directions" test and an 
"abstract-relations" test, similar to those given in the Menti- 
meter in this volume. 

When all the tests had been given the results were computed 
and tabulated so as to bring out the following points: (1) the 
rank of each individual with reference to all the rest; (2) the 
relation of each of four groups to each other; (3) the relation 
between technique and intelligence. The results were then 
submitted to the office head, who compared them with his 
records and with his own opinion of the relative merits of the 
various individuals. This comparison showed a very marked 
agreement between the testimony of the tests and the rankings 
of the office manager. 

The results of these tests so impressed the office manager that 
he decided to give them to all incoming clerks. One of the first 
candidates to-be examined was a young woman who had recently 
been interviewed by one of the office heads. The candidate 
was so unprepossessing in appearance that in spite of signs 
testifying to her intelligence, the office head was in doubt as to 



MENTAL TESTS IN INDUSTRY 85 

the advisability of hiring her. The psychological tests were 
applied. When this was done the young woman did remarkably 
well in every test. She was then hired, and proved herself so 
ready and capable that it was decided to train her for the work 
of an office assistant. In six weeks she had mastered the 
routine of four different kinds of work. This was a striking 
instance in which the testimony of the tests belied the testimony 
of observation. 

Although there were certain inadequacies in the tests applied, 
as well as in the judgments obtained from office heads, the value 
of the results became more and more clear with each passing 
month. For example, 188 clerks recommended on the basis of 
the tests and followed up at intervals of one month for a period 
of three months were estimated as follows : 

Percentage of those called good by their superiors 

At the end of one month 75% 

At the end of two months 89% 

At the end of three months 92% 

Another series of interesting experiments to determine the 
mental capacity of workers in industry was directed at stenogra- 
phers, typists, and comptometrists. The work of these kinds of 
workers has been specialized by the use of a standard machine, 
and in applying tests to this kind of work it was necessary, 
therefore, to take into consideration two important factors: 
first, the skill already acquired by the workers at a certain 
machine; second, the aptitude which the worker possessed for 
improvement in the use of the machine. 

Relevant tests were given to two senior classes of more than 
three hundred girls and boys in a commercial high school, to 
seventy-six pupils in two business schools, to a group of twenty- 
two office typists, to another group of nineteen stenographers, 
to over four hundred candidates for positions as typists and 
stenographers, to three groups of more than one hundred and 
forty comptometrists; and finally, to more than one hundred 
and twenty candidates for comptometry. More than one 



8C 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 



thousand persons were tested and more than five thousand tests 
were given. 

Tests for typists included copying, spelling, substitution, an< 
the Trabue Completion test. In the copying and spelling tests, 
office forms were used. A number of words, purposely mis- 
spelled in characteristic fashion, were mingled with words 
correctly spelled, and the applicant was asked to check off those 
incorrectly spelled. It was discovered, in the substitution test, 
that if an applicant without much previous experience in typing 
does very well in the test, the indication is that she has the 
necessary aptitude or potential ability to become a good typist 
with practice. The success of the applicant in the Trabue 
Completion test indicated his or her ability to complete sentences 
parts of which are missing. The ability to do this is a great 
advantage to the typist and one which will increase her 
capacity. 

The Trabue Completion test also proved valuable in deter- 
mining the ability of stenographers. The most important test 
probably, for a stenographer, is of her ability to take and tran- 
scribe dictation. Tests were given as nearly as possible at the 
speed which was best adapted to the applicant's ability. The 
results were then graded on the basis of the total time consumed 
and the amount of work done correctly. 

In experiments for determining the ability of computing- 
machine operators various tests were used. One of the most 
important was a mental-arithmetic test. This was designed to 
determine the applicant's fundamental knowledge of arithmetic. 
Another was a numerical substitution test. In each of the 
tests conducted the scores of the applicants were compared with 
the rankings made previously by department heads, and in most 
instances there was an agreement of sufficient approximation to 
indicate the value of the tests. 
"Although still in its infancy, as it were, so far as its practical 
application in industry goes, the scientific method of mental 
measurement, wherever and whenever applied in accordance 



MENTAL TESTS IN INDUSTRY 87 

with true psychological principles and by standards and methods 
devised by trained psychologists, has so completely demon- 
strated its economic value and social usefulness that its general 
adoption, as these facts become more generally known, seems 
inevitable. 



CHAPTER IX 
HOW TO USE THE MENTIMETER TESTS 

The Mentimeter tests differ from the Alpha tests, or from 
the Beta test of the United States Army, from the Otis test, 
or from any other system of tests now available, chiefly in their 
flexibility. Rather than present to the public a certain fixed 
and invariable group of eight or ten tests which are to be used 
wherever a measure of general intelligence is to be employed, 
as has been done in other cases, the present authors have chosen 
to present a wide variety of tests from which each reader 
may select those for his use which actually give the best 
results. 

It is not probable that exactly the same tests would select men 
of high intelligence in the graduate work of a university as would 
be needed to select the intelligent men in a logging camp in 
the wilds of Canada or our own Northwest. The present au- 
thors do not profess to know just how much of each mental 
trait is required to make up a perfect superior intelligence, and 
for that reason they have not attempted to propose any single 
group of tests as the best measure of intelligence. The reader 
is asked to "try out" such tests in the Mentimeter series as seem 
to him to offer greatest promise of usefulness, and then to make 
up his own "team of tests" in such manner as will best reveal 
the kind of intelligence in which he is interested. 

For the benefit of those who wish some suggestions as to the 
tests which would probably be most useful in the main lines of 
work to which intelligence tests may be applied, the authors 
here propose certain tentative or suggestive lists which would 
seem to them to offer great promise of successful use. For the 

88 



HOW TO USE THE MENTIMETER TESTS 89 

classification of clerical workers in business and industry, the 
following tests should at least be given thorough trial: 



MENTIMETER MENTIMETER 

NO. TITLE NO. TITLE 

6. Completion of Form Series 16. Naming Opposites 

7. Checking Identity of Numbers 23. Completion of Sentences 

8. Digit-Symbol Substitution 24. Analogies 

9. Completion of Number Relation Series 28. Arithmetic Reasoning 

It is possible, of course, that some employer who makes the 
trial will find a half dozen other tests that show more accurate 
results in classifying clerical workers than will be shown by any 
test in the above list, but such a thing will probably not happen, 
for the type of test which has been useful in similar situations 
will probably prove useful again. If such a thing did happen, 
however, the employer would be foolish and unscientific to 
retain the list suggested above when he knew of a better 
list. 

In the classification of the intelligence of labourers, the au- 
thors would suggest that the following tests be given fair trial: 



TIME' 


CEB 


MENTIMETER 


NO. 

2. 
3. 
5. 
6. 


TITLE 

Pictorial Absurdities 
Maze Threading 
Dividing Geometric Figures 
Completion of Form Series 


NO. TITLE 

9 . Completion of Number Relation Series 
18. Range of Information 

28. Arithmetic Reasoning 

29. Practical Judgment 



For classifying public school pupils according to their general 
intellectual power and ability to learn, the authors propose that 
the following tests be employed until a different selection has 
been proved to be superior: 



MENTIMETER 


MENTIMETER 


NO. 


TITLE 


NO. 


TITLE 


2. 


Pictorial Absurdities 


20. 


Reading Directions 


8. 


Maze Threading 


23. 


Completion of Sentences 


8. 


Digit-Symbol Substitution 


28. 


Arithmetic Reasoning 


16. 


Naming Opposites 


29. 


Practical Judgment 



90 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

As being more strictly education tests rather than tests of 
intelligence the reader's attention is invited to the following list: 



ENTIMETER 


MENTIMETER 


NO. 


TITLE 


NO. 


TITLE 


10. 


Addition 


25. 


Handwriting 


17. 


Spelling 


26. 


English Composition 


19. 


Reading: Vocabulary 


27. 


Poetic Discriminntion 


21. 


Reading: Interpretation 


28. 


Arithmetic Reasoning 



The most profitable list from the point of view of social enter- 
tainment would seem to be the following: 



MENTIMETEB 


MENTIMETEB 


NO 


TITLE 


NO. 


TITLE 


2 


Pictorial Absurdities 


22. 


Disarranged Sentences 


3 


Maze Threading 


23. 


Sentence Completion 


5 


Geometrical Figures 


24. 


Analogies 


6 


Completion of Form Series 


27. 


Poetic Discrimination 


18 


Range of Information 


29. 


Practical Judgment 


20 


Reading Directions 


30. 


Logical Conclusions 



Whatever the purpose for which the tests are to be used, the 
best results can be obtained only by securing from the original 
publishers the carefully printed forms prepared by the authors of 
the tests. Mimeographed copies of test blanks or privately 
printed blanks are certain to differ so much from the true form 
that the results obtained therewith cannot be directly compared 
with the official results. 

Long experience has likewise demonstrated, fairly clearly, 
that the best results will be obtained in any industrial organiza- 
tion or educational staff by making one person chiefly responsible 
for the proper administration of the intellectual and educa- 
tional measurements. If a personnel director is at hand who can 
study his tests just as scientifically as he studies his men, prog- 
ress and improvement in the methods and results are inevita- 
ble. 

Measurements of intelligence are by no means the only or final 
criteria by which the successful personnel manager wins success 



HOW TO USE THE MENTIMETER TESTS 91 

in his work and saves money for his employers. He makes 
use of every piece of information about his men that it is possible 
for him to pick up anywhere. The trade tests particularly 
offer a wide field in which measurements of intelligence may be 
supplemented and made more useful. Of two men who are 
to-day working in the same trade, receiving the same wages and 
makingthe same score on their trade tests, that one is more prom- 
ising who has the higher intelligence score. On the other hand, 
of two equally intelligent men, as measured by the intelligence 
tests, that one who has attained within a given time the higher 
proficiency in his trade is superior. 

The chief value of the group intelligence tests will probably 
always be in the classification of large groups of persons into 
smaller, well-defined groups, the members of which groups may 
then be studied more carefully and by more exact methods in 
the hands of a trained psychologist, if necessary. Until the 
group method of examination was developed, making it possible 
to test the intellectual ability of every employee without tremen- 
dous expense in time and money, it would have been most 
foolish to talk about maintaining a continuous inventory of the 
mental strength of an organization, and yet such an inventory is 
now possible — just as possible as the record of the condition 
and capacity of each machine owned by the company. 

Prospective users of the Mentimeters need to bear in mind 
that mental powers are far less constant in their amounts than 
are the dimensions and measurements of a piece of steel or 
lumber. Even the length of a steel rail varies between winter 
and summer, but the variation that occurs in the strength of 
mental connections from day to day or from hour to hour is very 
much greater than the variations of the steel rail. Except by 
chance one would not obtain exactly the same score a second 
time in taking a Mentimeter test, or any other test of mental 
ability. Being for the most part constructed on the "increas- 
ing difficulty" plan, however, the Mentimeters will prove much 
less influenced by recency of drill and nearness to the lunch hour 



92 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

than will most other tests, especially less than those speed tests 
which measure how many simple tasks one can do within a given 
time limit. The Mentimeter ideal is to test power rather than 
speed. 

No single set of tests should be used as final and conclusive 
in the public schools with regard to the kind of work which a 
given boy or girl should undertake. The Mentimeter tests 
may be used as a first "drag-net," but those caught in this net 
should then be carefully studied by the most refined methods 
known to psychologists before being recommended for particular 
types of special instruction or sent to special schools. One of 
the most hopeful signs in the entire educational field is the num- 
ber of cities that are employing psychologists to follow up the 
results of group examinations in the schools. Many of the 
state universities have established bureaus to serve the local 
communities* in such matters. The very finest measurements 
are of no avail unless something is done about the results dis- 
closed. 

For each of the Mentimeter tests, the authors have classified 
the possible scores into five general groups: Superior, High 
Average, Average, Low Average, and Inferior. This classifica- 
tion is very rough and should not be wrongly interpreted. An 
individual who is tested with three or four or more of the Menti- 
meter tests should not be expected to receive the same classifica- 
tion in each test. In the Handwriting test, for example, a 
person might well be expected to make a rating of "Superior" 
in quality of writing while making only "Low Average" in 
speed of writing. The same person might well make a score 
on the test of Poetic Discrimination which would classify him 
as "Inferior." Although there is a tendency for people who 
are superior in one line to have high abilities in other lines, it 



*There has recently been established in Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City, 
a Bureau of Educational Service, the Director of which would be glad to answer questions or advise 
with any one interested in measuring intelligence or educational results, regardless of the state or 
community in which one may live. 



HOW TO USE THE MENTIMETER TESTS 93 

is only a general tendency, which will not hold good in all cases 
and with regard to all varieties of ability. 

For the most accurate scientific work the reader will probably 
disregard entirely the fivefold classification of scores mentioned 
above. The finer distinctions made by the numerical scores 
will be studied, and interpretations will be made for the specific 
purposes of the examiner. It is probable, for example, that 
comparatively few children at the age of eight years would be 
classified as being better than "Inferior," if these rough general 
classifications were to be the only record kept of performance 
on these tests. On the other hand, very few clerical workers 
of proved ability and success would make a classification as low 
as "Average," except possibly in a few specialized-ability tests. 
The important point to be considered by the teacher of a second- 
grade class, or by an employer of clerical workers, or by any 
other person who wishes to make serious use of these tests, is 
the relation of the scores in the test to the relative abilities of the 
persons in the special group tested. The tentative classification 
of scores made at the end of each section of the chapter which 
follows this is for human beings in general and will not fit well 
any specialized group of persons. 

In order to assist readers who have no statistical training in 
the evaluation for their special purposes of any particular Men- 
timeter test, a few pages will be devoted to an elementary state- 
ment of how to try out scientifically the relationship between 
a test, on the one hand, and demonstrated ability in any special 
line of endeavour, on the other. It may be stated here again 
that not all traits of mind are important in every task that must 
be done in life. Some positions require only a little intellectual 
ability while others require a great deal, and some tasks require 
very great development of a few traits which may be very little 
called for in other equally important tasks. The authors have 
used their best judgment as to which tests will probably select 
the type of persons needed in a certain type of position, but the 
Judgments of other equally experienced men would be just as 



94 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

good. The final proof of reliability in a test can come only by 
actual trial of that test upon men of various degrees of demon- 
strated ability in the trade or profession concerned. What 
follows is a statement of how to measure this correspondence 
between demonstrated degree of success and score in a test, or 
between the scores of the same persons in two or more different 
tests. 

No measure of relationship between success in life and success 
in a test can be any more accurate than the original measures 
of success from which the calculation is made. If the measures 
of success in life are unreliable, then the measure of their re- 
lationship to success in a test will be even more unreliable. The 
more definite and certain one can be of his measures of success, 
the more reliable will his measure of relationship be. 

In productive labour, especially where payment is based upon 
the number of standard articles produced in a day, or upon the 
number of standard operations performed in a given time, the 
records of actual performance are probably the best measures 
of success available as a standard against which to judge the 
reliability of a test. The record for one day or for one week 
would be less reliable usually than the record for a month or a 
longer period. 

In many business organizations and industries there is no 
such satisfactory standard of success as individual production 
records, and in such cases it is necessary to make use of the 
judgments of foremen, supervisors, or superintendents. These 
are far less satisfactory records of efficiency and are subject 
to gross errors and prejudices, but they are the only available 
measures of many workers. If the rating as to ability is the 
consensus of the judgments of two or more supervisors, each 
making his rating without any reference to that made by any 
other person, the result is much more reliable than the rating 
of any single supervisor would be. 

Very grave errors creep into a rating of efficiency where the 
ratings are made by different supervisors, each supervisor rating 



HOW TO USE THE MENTIMETER TESTS 95 

only a few men. Even where a detailed schedule of qualities is 
listed, each to be given a definite weight or importance in making 
up the total rating, as in the Army Rating Scale, the degree of 
ability which one man's experience leads him to call "Average" 
will call forth a rating of "Superior" from another equally able 
supervisor whose experience has been with slightly different 
people. If individuals A, B, and C are rated by the first super- 
visor and individuals D, E, and F by the second, it is not at all 
safe to assume that C is rated fairly in relation to D. Only 
when two individuals are rated by the same supervisors upon the 
same scale and under the same conditions is it legitimate or safe 
to assume that their relative abilities are well indicated by the 
ratings. 

Assuming that the reader has obtained a reliable order of 
merit for the individuals he is using as a check upon the value of 
the Mentimeter tests, no test should be considered useful which 
does not result in approximately this same order of merit. The 
tests are, of course, so short and so crude that it is not to be 
expected that any test will, except by chance, show exactly the 
same order of ability as the production records or supervisor's 
ratings furnish, but some tests will show much closer corres- 
pondence than others. Those tests which correspond most 
closely should be employed, while those tests which do not 
correspond at all should not be employed, regardless of any 
statement of the authors or any preconceived ideas of the 
reader as to what tests ought to foretell ability in any particular 
line of work. The proof of a test or of any method of prognosti- 
cation lies in the degree to which it actually arranges people in 
the order of their relative efficiency in the tasks for which one 
seeks to foretell success. 

A mere glance at a record such as that shown below for 
twenty-eight sixth-grade pupils would show that there was a 
real relationship between the scholarship marks, the teacher's 
estimate of intelligence, and the results of educational measure- 
ments taken by an outsider. 



96 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 



SCORES AND RATINGS OF SIXTH GRADE CLASS 





EDUCATIONAL MEAS- 


teacher's ranking 


SUMMABT OF 


NAME OP PUPIL 


UREMENTS SCORE 


OF intelligence 


teacher's MARKS 




(no. of errors) 


(i is brightest) 


in scholarship 


Adelaide 


36. 


19 


85 


Ruth 


16.5 


15 


90 


Alexander 


25.5 


7 


93 


LaMouLe 


46.5 


6 


93 


Earl 


76.5 


18 


77 


Joseph 


20.5 


20 


85 


Amadeo 


75. 


11 


85 


Leo 


48. 


3 


93 


William 


53.5 


9 


82 


Isabel 


25. 


21 


76 


Ida 


36.5 


4 


94 


Hazel 


15. 


10 


90 


Frederick 


65. 


26 


86 


Charles 


68.5 


13 


85 


Edward 


30. 


1 


95 


Benjamin 


62.5 


24 


76 


Bruce 


56. 


22 


87 


Alden 


55. 


12 


87 


George 


60.5 


17 


87 


Alice 


29. 


11 


S3 


Almira 


15.5 


5 


96 


Helen 


16.5 


2 


90 


Elizabeth 


65.5 


23 


75 


Amelia 


24.5 


8 


92 


Edwin 


19. 


16 


89 


Robert 


67. 


28 


71 


Edna 


47. 


27 


78 


Samuel 


72. 


25 


80 



The things which are not so evident at a glance are the de- 
grees of relationship between these three types of measures. 
Is the relation of educational measurements to the teacher's 
estimates greater than the relation of the measurements to the 
marks in scholarship given by the teacher? In order to measure 
precisely the relative degrees of correspondence between various 
measures and estimates of the abilities of individuals, it is quite 
evident that something more accurate and exact than mere in- 
spection is necessary. 

For an explanation of the method by which the exact relation- 
ship may be worked out mathematically between the results of a 
test and the true abilities of the individuals tested, the reader is 



HOW TO USE THE MENTIMETER TESTS 97 

referred to pages 326-331 in the appendix. The discussion 
which will be found there of the method of calculating a co- 
efficient of coordination will not be difficult to understand nor 
will the method be difficult of application for any one who wishes 
to measure the exact reliability of any of the Mentimeter tests or 
of any other test. For many purposes such a record as is shown 
on the preceding page, giving the score of the individual in each 
test used, will reveal the essential facts regarding the correspond- 
ence between test results and demonstrated ability. The reader 
should be cautious, however, about accepting a conclusion drawn 
from casual observation of such a table as that shown on the 
preceding page without checking up the accuracy of this conclu- 
sion by actually working out the coefficient of coordination ac- 
cording to the method shown in the appendix. 

When the reader has tried out, upon a fairly large group of 
persons of known ability, the Mentimeter tests which seem to 
him to promise greatest usefulness, and when he has made his 
calculations and discovered which tests actually do classify his 
people most accurately, it will then be possible for him to make 
an intelligent scientific selection of tests for practical use. Let 
us suppose, for example, that an employer wishes to have a set of 
tests whereby he may select intelligent sales-girls. By giving 
the ten or twelve tests which seem most hopeful for the purpose 
to fifty or sixty saleswomen, who have been in his employ long 
enough to demonstrate their relative degrees of ability and 
intelligence, the five or six tests may be chosen whose results 
show the closest relation to their demonstrated ability for in- 
telligent salesmanship. 

The results obtained by the separate tests chosen should also 
be compared, for two tests may measure practically the same 
mental trait and have a very high coordination with each other. 
In such a case, it would seem almost a useless waste to retain in 
the group two tests which measured the same phase of ability. 
The one of the pair which showed the less close relationship to 
the true ranking might be dropped from the list without much 



98 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

loss to the total effectiveness of the group of tests. A group of 
tests thus carefully selected would prove very helpful and 
effective in the selection of untrained material for training or 
in the classification of experienced employees according to their 
intellectual qualifications for the type of position held by 
the people on whom the validity of the tests had been 
proved. 

The advantage of such a well-selected "team" of tests is not 
so much that it selects various grades of ability more accurately 
than supervisors could select it after many months of experience 
in trying to train the new material, but that the tests make a 
satisfactory classification immediately, which saves the salaries 
and time of those applicants who would certainly fail in the 
training period. Even with the very best coefficients of co- 
ordination between the tests and actual demonstrated ability in 
the trade or position, the tests will not be infallible. On the 
other hand, no supervisor's judgment would be infallible, either. 
And the supervisor would be much more likely to errors through 
personal likes and dislikes than the impersonal tests could 
possibly be. 

The tests are an invaluable aid, when they are themselves 
chosen with the scientific care outlined above, although it would 
be a short-sighted policy for any firm to trust entirely to the 
results of intelligence tests in the employment of its personnel. 
Appearance, voice, education, manners, physical size, and many 
other qualities are sometimes quite as important as the degree 
of intelligence, and the intelligence tests do not measure other 
elements of personality than the mental qualities. 

Warning should also be given against using a particular set of 
intelligence tests, selected because they show high correspon- 
dence with ability in salesmanship, for example, as a measure of 
the intellectual qualities of candidates for some other position. 
Sets of tests, selected because they have been found accurate in 
classifying soldiers or school children for instruction, may not 
be of maximum usefulness in classifying machinists or business 



HOW TO USE THE MENTIMETER TESTS 99 

managers. The Mentimeter tests offer a wide variety, from 
which it is proposed that only those shall be used which have 
actually proved useful in classifying candidates for the par- 
ticular task concerned. There is no reason to believe that ex- 
actly the same type of intelligence is required in all positions. 

Having chosen certain promising tests for experiment, having 
proved the validity of these tests by checking up the relation of 
their results to the true abilities of a group of old employees or 
persons whose relative capacities are known perfectly, and 
having selected those tests whose results relate most directly to 
intellectual ability and least directly to one another, one may 
begin to employ the tests thus selected for the sorting and 
classification of new recruits or applicants. The question 
which will at once confront the reader who is not experienced in 
the employment of statistics of this sort is "How shall the test 
results be recorded and interpreted?" 

The answer to the question regarding test records is that the 
exact score of each person should be kept for each test to which 
that person is "exposed." One difficulty with the records kept 
of certain other group intelligence tests is that only the final 
total score is retained, while all the wealth of detail furnished by 
the different tests included in the series is lost. The total score 
on a series of six or eight intelligence tests is worth keeping, but 
the separate scores on each of the six or eight may prove to be 
even more illuminating than the total score. Two candidates 
may make the same total score on a series of tests but the one 
may make his points chiefly in memory tests with little help 
from the tests calling for complex thought, while the other may 
do very poorly in the memory work and very well in the thought 
tests. If only the total score on the series were retained, the 
usefulness of the series would be practically destroyed for many 
purposes. 

For the interpretation of the result recorded on any test, one 
will need to use some short but intelligible scheme for stating 
the true relation of the score of any individual to the scores of 



100 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 



the remainder of his group or to the scores of the other group of 
old employees used as a standard in selecting the tests to be 
regularly employed. It is not always safe to say merely that 

Mr. K is below the average of his group. As an extreme case 

of how unjust this might be, let us suppose that in one of the 
Mentimeter tests, A made a score of 0; B made a score of 2; C, a 
score of 1; D, 2; E, 3; F, 0; G, 10; H, 2; 1, 3; J, 9; and K, 3. The 
average score of this small group, obtained by adding the eleven 

scores and dividing by 11, is 3.18. Mr. K therefore obtained 

a score which was below the average of the group, even though 
fewer than 20 per cent, of his group made better scores than he. 
The average score is too much influenced by extremely low or 
extremely high scores. 

To arrive at a proper perspective for interpreting the score 
of any individual, it is necessary first of all to have a distribution 
of the scores made by all the persons in the group with which 
the individual is to be compared. Such a distribution should 
show how frequently each possible score was made. The table 
on the left illustrates the idea of a distribution, using as material 
the scores quoted above for eleven individuals tested by a 
Mentimeter test. This table shows that one person had a score 
of 10, that one other had a score of 9, and 
that 3 was the next highest score made. 
The mode, or most common score, in 
this distribution is a 2 or a 3, which 
fact makes K's score of 3 appear as 
quite typical of his group. The modal 
or most frequent score is a really useful 
score with which to compare the record 
of any individual, although it is not as 
safe a measure of the central tendency 
of a distribution as is the median score. 
The median score of a distribution is the middle score, than 
which there are just as many larger as smaller. The median 
score is found by beginning at one end of a distribution and 



DISTRIBUTION 







SCORE 


FREQUENCY 


10 


1 


9 


1 


8 





7 





6 





5 





4 





3 


3 


2 


S 


1 


1 





2 


Total 


11 



HOW TO USE THE MENTIMETER TESTS 101 

counting through half of the frequencies. To count through 
half of the eleven frequencies in the above distribution would 
bring us into the midst of the three who had scores of 2, and 
therefore 2 is the median score with which K's score, or the score 
of any other individual, should be compared. 

The reader who is mathematically inclined may wish to find 
the median point in the distribution, the point which bisects 
the distribution. To find this, one needs to study his facts 
carefully and make such assumptions as seem most probable for 
the facts which are not perfectly apparent. For example, of the 
three persons who scored 2 points, one individual may have had 
the third problem thought out and have been in the very act 
of writing the correct answer to it when the time was up, while 
another may have just finished problem two without having 
begun to read the third problem, and the third person may have 
been right in the middle of his thought about problem three. 
Not knowing what the exact truth is, we may assume that of 
the three who had a score of 2, one's true score was between 2 
and 2.33, another's was between 2.33 and 2.66 and that the 
third's was between 2.67 and 3.00. 

If we count out the five who scored 3 or higher, we shall still 
require half of the distance represented by the next highest in- 
dividual in order to have counted out 5.5 (half of 11). If our 
assumption is true, then, we shall need to count half way down 
from 3.00 to 2.67 in order to find the median point, 2.83. The 
calculation of the median point is not necessary, however, unless 
there is a very large number of cases in the distribution and 
unless very accurate comparisons must be made. In passing it 
may be said that the calculation of the median point at 2.83 is 
just as sensible and just as accurate as the calculation of the 
average point at 3.18, and that the median point is a much more 
useful measure of the distribution than the more commonly 
used average. 

The user of the Mentimeter tests will not, under ordinary cir- 
cumstances, be satisfied with interpreting an individual's score 



102 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 



merely by indicating its direction from the median, mode or 
average of a group. It will not usually be sufficient to say "He 
made the modal or most popular score," or "His score was lower 
than the average," or even "His score was higher than the 
median." Some indication will be desired as to how much bet- 
ter or poorer a given score is than the median, or just what 
percentage of the standard group made better scores. An 
illustration of the method to be employed in such calculations 
and a review of the method of finding the median is given below 
in connection with a distribution of scores on one of the Menti- 
meter tests. (See Mentimeter No. 24, page 234.) 






I 


II 


III 


IV 


SIZE OP SCORE 
ANALOGIES TEST 


frequency: no. of 
college gbaduates 


total no. from 
lowest score 


TOTAL % FROM 
LOWEST score 


30 

29 
28 / 
27 
26 

25 
24 
23 
22 
21 

20 
19 
18 
17 
16 

15 
14 
13 
12 
11 

Total 


2 
4 

10 

22 
32 

20 

18 

8 

4 

2 

1 

2 
1 
1 

1 

"i 

129 


129 
127 
123 
113 
91 

59 
39 
21 
13 
9 

7 
6 

4 
3 

2 

"i 


100 
98.5 
95.3 
87.6 
70.6 

45.8 
30.3 
16.3 
10.1 
7.0 

5.4 
4.7 
S.l 
2.3 

1.6 

.8 







Having distributed the scores obtained by a group of college 
graduates on the Analogies test, the next important step toward 
their interpretation is the totaling of the frequencies up to and 
including those of each possible size, as shown in the third 
column of the accompanying table. The fourth column is 
then prepared showing the corresponding percentages of the total 



HOW TO USE THE MENTIMETER TESTS 103 

number (129) of persons tested, for each of the total frequencies 
shown in column III. The table as a whole is then to be read 
from left to right. As an example, one may begin at 20 in the 
first column and read as follows: "1 college graduate made a 
score of exactly 20 points, making in all 7 individuals who ob- 
tained a score of 20 points or less, which (7) is 5.4 per cent, of 
the 129 individuals tested." Dropping the eye to the next 
percentage below this line in column IV, one can interpret the 
score of the individual who made a score of 20 as follows: "This 
is a poor showing for a college graduate, for of 129 college 
graduates tested only 4.7 per cent, made a lower score." 

A very popular method of interpreting a score is to tell in 
what quarter or, as the statisticians would say, in what "quar- 
tile" of the distribution a given score is found. The upper or 
first quartile of a distribution is the range of scores below which 
75 per cent, of those tested have fallen. The second quartile 
is the range of scores below which 50 per cent, are found but 
above which 25 per cent, of those tested are found. The third 
quartile is the range below which only 25 per cent, are found and 
above which 50 per cent, are found, and the fourth or lowest 
quartile is the range of scores in which are found the lowest 25 
per cent, of the scores made. The first and second quartiles 
are above the median, while the third and fourth quartiles are 
below the median. Obviously the individual who scored 20 
points in the Analogies test, and is included in the lowest 5.4 per 
cent, is also in the lowest quartile of the college graduate scores. 
The point dividing the first and second quartiles is called the 
75 percentile, while the point dividing the third and fourth 
quartiles is called the 25 percentile. As was stated above, the 
median or 50 percentile divides the second and third quartiles. 

Columns III and IV in the foregoing table assist one quite ma- 
terially in calculating the median and the other percentile points. 
To find the median, one will need to count half way through the 
distribution, in this case to count out 64.5 scores ( i -|- s -=64.5). 
The 20 persons who scored on 25, in the above distribution, are 



104 MEASURE YOUR MIND 






shown by column III to be included in the lowest 59 scores and 
by column IV to be in the lowest 45.8 per cent. To include 
64.5 (or 50 per cent.) of the scores, 5.5 of the 32 individuals 
who scored on 26 will need to be taken (64.5 — 59 = 5.5) ; 5.5 is 
.17 of 32, so it will be necessary to take .17 of the distance (26.0 
up to 27.0) represented by a score of 26. This places the 50 
percentile or median point at 26.17, if we assume that the 32 
individuals obtaining a score of 26 were evenly distributed in 
their exact values between 26.0 and 27.0, which is the safest 
assumption one can make about these scores. 

The 25 percentile is found by counting out one fourth of the 
frequencies, beginning with the low-score end of the distribution. 
In the case of the college graduates' distribution on the Analogies 
test, the 25 percentile is 24.63. The 75 percentile, which is 
found by counting out three fourths of the frequencies from the 
low-score end or one fourth from the high-score end of the dis- 
tribution, is 27.26 in the case of the analogies distribution shown 
above. The "middle 50 per cent." of the distribution, or the 
second and third quartiles, lie between 24.6 and 27.3 according 
to these calculations. One may therefore assert that the typical 
college graduate, meaning one who is within the two middle 
quartiles of the college graduate distribution, should be ex- 
pected to make a score of 24, 25, 26, or 27 on the Analogies test 
in the Mentimeter series. 

Occasionally intellectual measurements are reported by 
tenths, the first tenth being the tenth of the distribution having 
the highest scores, just as the first quartile is the quarter con- 
taining the highest scores. For practical purposes with the 
Mentimeter tests, however, it is recommended (1) that the score 
made on each test be recorded, (2) that the median score of the 
standard group, with which each individual's score is to be com- 
pared, be calculated, and (3) that the percentage of the stand- 
ard group making lower scores than that individual's score be 
used as an interpretation. For these simple interpretations, a 
table, such as that shown on page 102 for college graduates in the 






HOW TO USE THE MENTIMETER TESTS 105 



Analogies tests, practically completes the necessary calcula- 
tions,* except for the calculation of the median score. It will 
be fairly intelligible to describe Henry Smith's score as follows: 
! "Smith has a score of 24 points as compared with the median 
score of 26.2 points for his group. Only 16.3 per cent, of the 
college graduates make a poorer score than Smith, but 69.7 per 
cent, make a better score." 

Assuming now that the reader has a fairly clear idea of how 
to administer and record the results of the Mentimeter tests, 
the next question to be answered is: "What shall be done about 
these test records? " Measurement in any field does not change 
to any appreciable degree the material which has been measured. 
The surveyor, for example, who measures the area of a field 
makes very little impression upon the soil over which he passes. 
A physician who measures the weight of an infant does not 
thereby increase that weight or diminish it. In the same way 
the psychologist who applies a Mentimeter test to a filing clerk, 
does not by that act increase the efficiency of that clerk. Meas- 
urements, of themselves, are of no value. Something must be 
done about the result which is obtained or all of the expense in 
time and money is of no avail. 

The real purpose of a measurement is to tell facts about a 
situation more exactly and with greater objectiveness than they 
could be told in a description. A child may seem, on first ap- 
pearance, to be under weight, but in order to know definitely 
whether or not that is true it is necessary to measure his age in 
terms of years, months, and days, to measure his weight in terms 
of pounds and ounces, and to measure his height in terms of feet 
and inches. All of these measurements taken together, how- 
ever, will not hinder the child's growth or make him develop 

*For the purpose of assisting the reader in keeping and interpreting records of the Mentimeter 
tests, the authors have prepared a record booklet which may be used with the tests to excellent 
advantage. It will be found economical to use this booklet because of the guide lines, headings, 
and practical suggestions which it contains, reducing copying and memory work in the calculations 
to a minimum. It is recommended also that calculating tables or a slide rule be used to calculate 
the percentages called for in the final column of the distribution tables. Such aids are very de- 
sirable because of their contribution to the accuracy of results and to economy of time. 



106 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

more rapidly; they merely indicate what his present condition 
is, without reference to what it may have been in the past or 
what it may become in the future. 

As a sample of the great benefit which may be obtained from 
knowing mental facts exactly, we may consider the traditions 
and present status of our public school systems. Education has 
in the past been pointed, from the very beginning in the kinder- 
garten toward the high school and the college and ultimately the 
professional school in which lawyers, physicians, ministers, and 
teachers were to be prepared. The child who by nature was not 
inclined toward the consideration of abstract ideas and theories 
soon found that the schools were not well adapted to his in- 
terests. 

The percentage of persons in our population who cannot 
successfully think and work with abstract symbols and verbal 
ideas is very much greater than most of us have been inclined to 
believe. We have stated or implied that any boy who would 
stay in school long enough might fit himself to become a United 
States Senator or possibly a great newspaper editor, or lawyer. 
Those pupils who found it impossible to assimilate the type of 
thing that was offered by the public schools have been eliminated 
and sent out into the industrial world to find materials which 
would correspond to their interests. 

Educators have still further made the error of saying or im- 
plying that it was the inferior people who were thus forced out of 
school. The authors of the present book wish to assert their 
belief that the mind of a man whose interests lie in handling 
people and concrete objects is not at all inferior on that account 
to the mind of the man who handles ideas and abstract con- 
ceptions. 

Measures of intelligence have in the past been chiefly those 
which would be favourable to the abstract thinker. The Alpha 
test, used in the Army, proved conclusively to those who 
studied the results most carefully, that fully half of our popula- 
tion can never succeed, even moderately, in the manipulation of 






HOW TO USE THE MENTIMETER TESTS 107 

abstract ideas. The large proportion of our boys and girls 
who come to school are absolutely doomed to be unsuccessful 
and to become discouraged in their attempts to progress in the 
! courses which are commonly given, and yet the public supports 
these schools, and the administrators of these schools try to claim 
that they offer "equal opportunity to all." Actually the kind of 
opportunity offered can be used effectively by only a small per- 
centage of the pupils. Unless the child has the ability to inter- 
pret symbols and juggle ideas he is declared to be inferior and is 
forced out to learn for himself how to earn a living and to secure 
his rights. 

The Mentimeter tests and other measures of intellectual 
abilities provide the means whereby pupils may be classified, at 
the very beginning of their education, according to the degree 
to which the formal academic training will be assimilated. 
These tests make it possible to select those who do not think 
abstractly but who require concrete objects or persons as the 
material for their mental activity. Unless the public recog- 
nizes that it owes an appropriate education to these people just 
as surely as it does to the academic few, it will not be long until 
this great group, in which our present schools develop the habit 
of failure and discontent, will arise to overthrow the injustices 
which our past aristocratic organization of society has handed 
on to them. 

It is not proposed that certain individuals be selected by 
the Mentimeter tests and trained psychologists and then con- 
demned to training of a less respectable order than that which 
is now offered. What is proposed is that by the use of intelli- 
gence tests students in schools be classified and placed in classes 
where they can learn things which it is within their mental power 
and interests to grasp and which will be of practical value and 
of social significance in the development of good citizens; 
rather than to continue, as we have in the past, condemning 
this large majority of our population to failure in school and 
elimination from the benefits of public taxation for education. 



108 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

It is no disgrace for a blind man to be unable to paint beauti- 
ful pictures, nor is it considered a great social injustice for a man 
of ordinary size to be denied the opportunity of serving as a 
giant in a side show. It should not be considered by any one 
that being a good valet or mule driver or boot black or street 
cleaner is a less respectable calling for a man whose mind de- 
mands concrete objects for its exercise than the expounding of 
the gospel or explanation of legal technicalities is to the man 
whose mind is inclined toward abstract ideas and relationships. 
If we are to have an effective social organization each person 
must do the type of thing for which his brain and his physical 
body fit him, without feeling that he is thereby either inferior or 
superior to any other person. We must help one another, each 
supplying that service for which he is best fitted. To continue 
as we have in the past, encouraging every child to look for a 
"white-collar job" at the end of his educational career is to 
foster the monster of discontent and unrest which threatens to 
destroy the very foundations of modern society. 

If the Mentimeter tests which follow can do no more than 
point out for employers and educators the limits to which those 
who are dependent upon them can go in the understanding and 
use of abstract ideas, they will thereby have contributed mate- 
rially to the happiness and contentment of a weary world. Along 
with the results of the tests there must, however, be this feeling 
of responsibility for one another and the recognition of the need 
for "pulling together" for the common good, each man con- 
tributing that for which his inheritance has fitted him, else we 
shall continue to force men to learn failure and discontent in our 
schools and thereby destroy the social structure we have been so 
long in building. 



J 



CHAPTER X 
THE MENTIMETER TESTS 

Tests of the abilities of human beings may be classified upon 
a great many different bases. It is possible, first of all, to 
classify them according to the qualities of mind and body which 
they measure. The reason it is difficult so to classify tests of 
mental ability is that the mind refuses to be cut up into different 
parts, each one responsible for a specific characteristic. No 
test can be solved by the use of one and only one group of in- 
tellectual faculties. The results obtained in any mental ex- 
amination are the complex effects of an immense number of 
different characteristics. No attempt has therefore been made 
in the classification of the Mentimeters to say that one measures 
imagination, another measures attention, and another some other 
quality. Almost every quality enters to some degree in each test. 

It is possible to classify tests according to the subject matter 
which they contain. The Mentimeter tests are so arranged, 
where it is possible, as to cover a very wide range of subject 
matter. 

It is possible to classify examinations according to the ac- 
tivity required of the candidate being examined. A number of 
the Mentimeter tests call for completing a series of objects or 
ideas, while a number of others call for memory of a certain sort, 
and still others require discrimination between certain differing 
elements. These differences in the activity of the candidate 
examined, are not, however, the chief distinctions to be made be- 
tween the tests. 

It is possible to classify measurements according to the 
number of candidates that may be examined at the same time. 

109 



110 MEASURE YOUR MIND 






Some tests cannot be given readily to more than one person at a 
time, while other tests can be given to several at the same sitting. 
In so far as possible, the Mentimeter tests are so arranged that 
they can be given to large numbers at the same sitting. This 
makes for economy of time and of effort on the part of the ex- 
aminer. 

It is possible to classify tests according to physical character- 
istics of the candidate examined, such as tests for infants, tests 
for children, and tests for adults, or tests for the blind and 
tests for the deaf. The first test in the Mentimeter series is 
for infants while the remainder of the tests are intended to 
measure older people. 

Tests may further be classified according to the language 
capacity of the candidates who are examined. Certain of the 
Mentimeter tests are for non-English-speaking persons primarily, 
while others are primarily for those who speak English, and still 
others for those who read English. 

The Mentimeter series of examinations which follows consists 
of thirty different tests, the majority of which are modifications 
of tests which have been used previously elsewhere. The first 
test in the series is to be used as an individual test of very young 
children. The blank provided furnishes brief suggestions, at 
each point, of what the procedure should be, and also furnishes 
a place for the examiner to record the result of his questions and 
observations. 

Each examination booklet in the Mentimeter series has on 
its title page blanks as follows : 



NAME- 



AGE AT LAST BIRTHDAY LOCATION. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 111 

The space headed "Location" is to be used to indicate the 
business or industrial organization or the department of the can- 
didate being examined; or the grade, class, and school of a school 
pupil. These blanks should always be filled out before the 
examination begins. 

At the middle of the page directions are frequently given with 
examples to serve in explaining concretely just what the nature 
of the test is going to be. In the lower right-hand corner of the 
title page there appears a blank, preceded by the words "Total 
Score." This is to be filled out by the examiner after the can- 
didate has marked his paper and after the examiner has scored 
the results. 

Tests numbered from 2 to 10 are classified as tests for non- 
English-speaking persons. They were designed originally, and 
can best be used, as group tests, although the directions given 
on the following pages for these members of the Mentimeter 
family are usually in terms of an individual examination. If it 
had been possible to prepare and furnish with this book large 
charts on which the explanatory samples could be exhibited and 
the pantomime instructions clearly demonstrated for a group of 
people at the same time, the instructions would have been 
printed as for a group examination. Within the confines of a 
title page of a test booklet only small examples can be pre- 
sented, and therefore the instructions are for measuring one 
individual at a time. Any employer, teacher, or supervisor who 
plans to make use of these tests for non-English-speaking persons 
would do well to prepare the demonstration material in en- 
larged form in order to use it in giving the tests to groups of in- 
dividuals at the same time. 

In giving a group test it is practically always necessary to 
obtain the identifying information called for on the title page 
before the booklets are opened or turned over. There is a 
distinct tendency for candidates to try to glance at the pages 
which follow unless specific directions are given as the papers are 
distributed that this must not occur. 



112 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

The procedure in giving Mentimeters 2 to 10 to people who 
can understand and even read English is very little different 
from the procedure to be used with the foreign language speak- 
ing groups. 

Mentimeters 11 to 15 cannot be given as group tests because 
of the great amount of writing which this would entail. Group 
tests are most efficient w T hen candidates are required to do noth- 
ing other than check the correct answers without having to 
write anything. 

Mentimeters 16 to 30 may be given as individual examina- 
tions, although they are planned as group examinations and the 
results obtained from their use as group examinations will be 
superior to the results obtained from their use as individual 
examinations. 

In giving all of these tests it is very important that the printed 
forms prepared by the publishers be employed and that the 
directions which follow be carefully observed. The stencils 
furnished with the printed test booklets make it possible for a 
clerk of average mental capacity to mark and score the results 
of these examinations with great rapidity and with just as much 
accuracy as could be obtained by specialists working without 
such stencils. These stencils and the group method make 
psychological examinations economical of administration. 

The list of Mentimeter tests is as follows : 

THE MENTIMETER TESTS 
Test for Infants 

1. Typical Performance 

Tests for Non-English-Speaking Persons 

2. Pictorial Absurdities 

3. Maze Threading 

4. Dot Pattern Correction 

5. Dividing Geometric Figures 

6. Completion of Form Series 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 113 

7. Checking Identity of Numbers 

8. Digit-Symbol Substitution 

9. Completion of Number Relation Series 

10. Addition Tests 

Individual Tests for English-Speaking Persons 

11. Memory for Numbers 

12. Repeating Numbers Backward 

13. Memory for Sentences 

14. Speaking Vocabulary 

15. Word Discrimination 

Group Tests for Persons Who Read English 

16. Naming Opposites 

17. Spelling Tests 

18. Range of Information 

19. Reading: Vocabulary 

20. Reading: Directions 

21. Reading: Interpretation 

22. Disarranged Sentences 

23. Completion of Sentences 

24. Analogies or Mixed Relations 

25. Handwriting Tests 

26. English Composition 

27. Poetic Discrimination 

28. Arithmetic Reasoning , 

29. Practical Judgment — 

30. Logical Conclusions. 

Mentimeter No. 1 
TYPICAL PERFORMANCES OF YOUNG CHILDREN 

Character of the Test. 

The mental capacity of adult persons is indicated rather 
accurately by the number and variety of things they have 



114 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

learned from the school of life, omitting from the count so far 
possible those things directly taught by the formal schools 
The intellectual capacity of an infant is likewise indicatec 
roughly by the changes which his brief experience in life has 
brought about in his ability to control himself and his immediate 
surroundings. At birth the child is practically without control 
of his own body, except for certain sucking reflexes, certain 
crying reflexes, and the reflex which causes it to grasp with its 
fingers or toes the finger or pencil which is brought into contact 
with them. These reflexes can hardly be said to be a part of 
the child's control of his own body, for the child could not avoid 
obeying them if he so desired. The new-born infant is prac- 
tically helpless even so far as his own body is concerned. Any 
degree of control he may later develop over his body or over 
other things outside is attained because he has a system of 
nerve and brain cells capable of forming connections and being 
modified by these connections and their results. 

The degree to which the child's nervous system is organized 
and supplied with potential connections by inheritance is re- 
fleeted very early in life by the quickness with which it learns to 
control itself and its immediate environment. The most ready 
method of testing this inherited capacity is therefore to deter- 
mine at any particular age just how complex and adequate a 
system of control has been developed. The tests for measuring 
infants and young children consist, then, in those performances 
under specified standard conditions, which are typical for chil- 
dren at various ages. 

The Mentimeter for young children is based directly upon the 
findings of Prof. Lewis M. Terman and his students in their 
investigations of children from three to twenty years of age. 
This investigation was so carefully devised and executed that to 
improve on the product, the Stanford Revision of the Binet 
tests, would be almost impossible. The tests for children 
three and four years of age presented in the following pages are 
therefore not claimed to be new or original with the present 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 115 

authors, who hereby express to Doctor Terman their admiration 
for his excellent contributions in the field of psychological meas- 
urements. The tests here suggested for children under three years 
of age are modifications of those suggested by Doctor Kuhlmann. 
All investigators in this field are, of course, indebted to the 
pioneers, the French psychologists, Binet and Simon. 

The method of this test series consists in putting the child into 
a well-defined situation and observing how he acts. The 
situation may consist partly in words or other noises impressing 
themselves upon his ears, or it may consist largely in visual 
sensations, or even in sensations of physical well-being in his 
own body. Under a given situation a normal child of a given 
age or older will act in a certain standard way. The measure- 
ment then is in terms of the age for which a given child's reac- 
tions are typical. 

The test can best be given by one who is fairly familiar with 
the infant to be tested, although interest in having the child 
make a good showing should never be allowed to change one's 
judgment of the facts as to the child's performance. Another 
danger of too great familiarity is that the examiner may, without 
intention to do so, drill the child upon those things which are 
later to be required in the test. In so far as the parent knows 
what performances are to be included in the tests there is real 
danger that the child will be "coached up" on these things, even 
at as early an age as six months. 

List of Typical Performances. 

Three Months (3 tests, credit 1 month each) 

1. Control of eyes (Both eyes look in same direction. Follows 

with eyes the movement of bright objects). 

2. Hearing (Reacts with sudden start or scream to loud 

noises, such as slamming of door, hand clapping. Turns 
eyes or head in direction of less startling noises, such as 
opening of door, footsteps). 



116 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

3. Muscular Control (Moves hand or toy directly to mouth 
without striking other parts of body and face. Grasps or 
curls fingers about rattle or pencil placed in hands). 

Six Months (3 tests, credit 1 month each) 

1. Muscular Control (Balances head without support. Sits 

ten minutes or more when supported). 

2. Self Direction (Attempts to catch self when beginning to 

fall from sitting posture. Reaches out for toys and near-by 
objects. Attempts to pull self to sitting posture if given a 
hand to grasp). 

3. Enjoyment (Plays longer and more persistent^ with one 

toy than with another. Laughs aloud when bounced on 
bed or when familiars indulge in strenuous exercise) . 

One Year (6 tests, credit 1 month each) 

1. Imitation of Movements (Can learn in half dozen trials to 

"wave bye-bye," put hands above head, or hide face in 
hands). 

2. Locomotion (Creeps toward desired objects, or stands 

beside a chair without other assistance). 

3. Understanding (Looks at frequently observed objects 

when names are mentioned: dog, ball, mama, flowers). 

4. Obedience (Understands and usually obeys simple com- 

mands: "Lie down! No, No! Spit it out!"). 

5. Speech (Repeats simple syllables : "go, go; da, da; ma, ma; 

bye-bye"). 

6. Calls attention (Shouts exclamations, looks or even points 

to objects of special interest: dogs, cats, train, carts, etc). 

Two Years (6 tests, credit 2 months each) 

1. Speech (Names articles of food desired: milk, cracker, 

rice, etc). 

2. Pictures (Points out familiar objects: boy, dog, cat, cow, 

man). 






THE MENTIMETER TESTS 117 

3. Obedience (Put ball in basket. Close the door. Bring 

the ball). 

4. Imitation (Imitates actions of other children at play). 

5. Discernment (Removes wrapping from candy; opens sack 

to get cookies). 

6. Self Direction (Walks directly to desired locations; rides 

"kiddie-kar" forward). 

Three Years (6 tests, credit 2 months each) 

1. Parts of Body (Points to nose, eyes, mouth, hair) . 

2. Familiar Objects (Names key, penny, knife, watch, pencil). 

3. Pictures (Enumerates objects in pictures: Dutch Home, 

Canoe, and Post Office). 

4. Able to tell own sex. 

5. Gives last name. 

6. Repeats sentences of 6 or 7 syllables. 

Four Years (6 tests, credit 2 months each) 

1. Discriminates between circles, squares, and triangles. 

2. Counts four pennies. 

3. Copies a square. 

4. Comprehension of described situation. 

5. Repeats four numbers in order : 4739 2854 7261 

6. Repeats sentences of 12 or 13 syllables. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

A very large part of this test must be given informally. It will 
be necessary to spend considerable time with each child examined 
in order to make certain that the reactions observed are not 
merely random movements which are not typical. For the tests 
of children three years of age and above the reader should very 
carefully study the detailed directions given by Professor Ter- 
man in his book, "The Measurement of Intelligence," published 
by Houghton Mifflin Company, if scientific accuracy of results 
is necessary. The materials called for may be secured from 



118 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

C. H. Stoelting and Company, 3037 Carroll Ave., Chicago. The 
directions given below are intended to be elementary and to 
indicate what is typical of children at each age rather than to 
serve as a perfect guide for the most scientific examinations. 

Three Months 

At the age of three months an infant should be able to co- 
ordinate his eyes; that is, to direct both eyes in the same direction 
and to move them simultaneously. When bright objects are 
brought into his field of vision and moved slowly from one side to 
the other, he should be able to follow with his eyes. As a 
matter of fact, many infants have attained this degree of control 
within the first week of their lives, but lack of control to this 
extent at the end of three months is an indication that special 
medical attention should be sought. 

For several days after birth the infant does not ordinarily hear 
any of the sounds or noises which occur in his vicinity. By the 
time he has become three months old, it should be apparent, 
from the sudden start or scream of the child when a door is 
slammed or someone in his neighbourhood suddenly claps his 
hands, that the child actually hears these noises. The average 
child at three months has become so familiar with life and its 
evidences that he will be able to turn his eyes in the direction of 
such noises as the opening of a door or the sound of footsteps 
near his bed. 

The first evidences of the child's recognition of sounds or 
sights are very difficult to interpret because they consist almost 
entirely in awkward, random moving of the hands and feet. 
Gradually the child develops some control over these movements 
and by the age of three months should be able to move his hand, 
or a toy in his hand, directly to his mouth without striking other 
parts of his body or face in the process. The early tendency of 
the infant to curl his fingers about a pencil or rattle which is 
placed in contact with them seems almost to disappear during 
the first month, but by the age of three months the child is again 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 119 

able to grasp such objects sufficiently to hold them for periods 
ranging from thirty seconds upward. 

Six Months 

The control of his body has so improved by the time he has 
reached the age of six months that the average child can balance 
his head without support for several minutes. It is usually 
possible also for the child to sit in a chair or on the bed with the 
support of pillows and bed clothing for as much as ten minutes. 
Occasionally, of course, the child will be able to sit alone as early 
as six months, but it is not wise to encourage this practice. The 
lack of ability to sit when supported at the age of six months is 
not necessarily an indication of lack of intellectual power but 
may be due entirely to physical weakness. 

Not only has the child at six months arrived at the stage 
where he can balance his head and sit quietly when supported, 
but he has usually begun to try to assist himself in various ways. 
Very frequently this attempt at self-help will be evidenced by 
pulling movements intended to bring him to a sitting posture 
when a hand is offered to him. There is no hesitation in the 
ordinary child at six months in his reaching out for toys or for a 
hand which is held toward him. Very frequently it will be 
observed that such a child puts out its hand to catch itself if it is 
beginning to fall from a sitting posture. 

The child has usually begun to show signs of pleasure and 
displeasure long before he has reached six months. This phase 
of development may be indicated by his playing longer and more 
persistently with one toy than with any other. It may be 
shown by much more animated activity when certain familiar 
individuals are present than would be evidenced in the presence 
of others equally well known. Very frequently children at this 
age indulge in amused laughing aloud when bounced on the bed, 
or when some well-known individual indulges in strenuous 
exercises accompanied by vociferous exclamations while the 
baby is watching. 



120 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

One Year 

By the time a child has become twelve months old it will be 
possible to teach it many little tricks and movements of a simple 
nature. The child seems to imitate almost spontaneously the 
actions which are often repeated by its parents or nurse. Six to 
twelve trials should be sufficient to teach the average infant of 
one year how to "wave bye-bye" when told to do so, or how to 
hold its hands above its head when asked "How big are you?" or 
to hide its face behind its hands or behind one of its covers when 
someone exclaims "Peek-a-boo." 

Some children never learn to creep before learning to walk. 
As a matter of fact, it seems fairly certain that the child who 
creeps rapidly may thereby postpone learning to walk. At the 
age of one year a child should be able to stand beside a chair 
without other assistance than the support given by the chair, or 
it should be able to creep very rapidly toward its toys or any 
other desired objects. Frequently, of course, children have 
learned to walk fairly well by the time they have attained 
twelve months, but this is rather unusual and is not particularly 
an indication of the degree of mental capacity. 

The child of one year understands many common words 
applying to frequently observed objects which have been re- 
peatedly called to his attention. When asked "Where is the 
dog? — where is the ball? — where are the flowers?" and such 
questions the average infant will turn its head and look toward 
the object mentioned, sometimes pointing, although this is 
somewhat unusual. 

Simple commands such as " Lie down ! No-no ! Spit it out ! " 
and the like, can be understood and are usually obeyed by 
children of this age. 

The speech of a child at this age is of course very simple, 
consisting of one syllable words, usually repeated. Such ex- 
pressions as "ma-ma," "bye-bye," da-da," "go-go," may be 
expected in the average child. It is unusual for an infant to 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 121 

ombine two such expressions into a crude sentence at this 
ge. 

The child at one year quite frequently has begun to attempt 
lanipulation of his environment as well as of his own body. 
r ery frequently this will be observed in shouts or exclamations 
ccompanied by looking or even pointing to objects which his 
amiliars have previously pointed out to him, such as dogs, cats, 
rains, carts, etc. These objects will ordinarily not be named by 
he child, although peculiar sounds fitting each one may fre- 
uently be distinguished. Another manifestation of this same 
ttempt at altering his environment will be the crying in which 
he child will indulge when he desires to change his resting place 
r to have something to eat. 

Two Years 

By the time a child has become two years of age its speech 
ias developed to such an extent that it will be able to name, 
lthough frequently not with clearness and distinct pronuncia- 
ion, many of its toys and articles of food. " Milk," "rice," and 
cookie," are examples of the most frequently named objects, 
ilany children have by this age also progressed to the point 
rhere two or three or more words may be joined together to 
orm a crude sentence. There are on record children who by two 
ears of age were able to frame fairly good sentences and even 
o read from simple books, but such records are very unusual. 

At this time the child should be able to distinguish pictures of 
amiliar objects, such as dogs, cats, horses, men and boys. This 
rill be manifest not only in the child's being able to name the 
bjects to which other people point in the picture, but when 
;sked, "Where is the dog?" the infant should be able to point 
o it if the picture is at all clear. 

Simple commands should be thoroughly understood and the 
\ r ell-trained infant will be able to obey without much delay such 
lirections as "Put the ball in the basket," "Close the door," 
' Bring me the doll," and " Show me the book." 



122 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

The average child at two years of age has become distinctly 
aware of other children as persons more nearly related to itself 
than are the adults with whom it is ordinarily associated. This 
reveals itself in imitation of the actions of other children, such 
as waving the arms when other children do so, hiding the face 
against the wall when other children are playing hide and seek, 
and stepping rhythmically when other children dance. 

By the age of two years the average child can distinguish 
accurately between that which is food and that which is not fit 
for eating. The wrapping from candy or cookies or other well- 
liked food will be removed or torn away before an attempt is 
made to eat the food. Frequently this will result in great 
annoyance when the child opens sacks and packages to which he 
is not entitled. 

The child at this age has usually learned to walk quite erectly 
without hesitation to any desired location. If the child is 
placed upon a "kiddie-kar" his first reaction is to run it back- 
ward, but by the age of two years he should be able to guide it 
well in going forward. Some attempts will be made at running 
and a great many attempts at climbing by the time the child has 
reached this age. 

Three Years 

At three years of age a child when asked to point out different 
parts of its body (nose, eyes, mouth, and hair) can do so without 
hesitation. Familiar objects, such as a key, a penny, a pocket- 
knife (closed), a watch, and a pencil (common wooden) will be 
named at once if held out to the child with the question, "What 
is this?" 

The pictures used in the Stanford Revision of the Binet test 
may be shown to the child with the direction " Tell me what you 
see in this picture," or "Look at the picture and tell me every- 
thing you can see in it." In response to such questions the 
child should be able to enumerate different objects, such as the 
little girl, the window, the chair, and the woman in the picture 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 123 

of the Dutch Home; or the men, the basket, and the newspaper 
in the picture of the Post-office. 

At this age the child has had enough experience to be able to 
repeat its last name and to know whether people call it a "girl" 
or a "boy." The question should be asked in the following 
fashion: "What is your name?" If the answer is in terms of 
the given name only, then the question should be amplified as 
follows: "Yes, but what is your other name? Walter what?" 
If the surname is still not given, a fictitious one may be framed 
and the question asked in some such fashion as follows: "Is 
your name Waiter Smith?" If the child is still unable to reply 
then it is probable that he does not know the family name or is 
too frightened to give it. In finding whether the child knows 
his sex the formula for a boy should be : "Are you a little boy or a 
little girl? " For a girl the question should be: "Are you a little 
girl or a little boy?" 

At the age of three years a child should be able to repeat 
sentences containing six or seven syllables. Those used by 
Terman are: (1) "I have a little dog." (2) "In summer the 
sun is hot." (3) "The dog runs after the cat." In leading 
up to these repetitions it is well to ask the child first to say 
single words, such as "school." "Can you say school?" 
"Now say, 'I go to school.'" Then ask the child to say "I 
have a little dog." 

Four Years 

By this time the child should be able to distinguish between 
circles, squares, triangles, and other geometric forms. Ten 
drawings of circles, squares, and triangles should be presented to 
the child and he should be able to find one or two others just 
like the one to which the examiner points. 

The child should by this time be able to count pennies or 
buttons, at least up to four, without any error. The child 
should be able to handle a pencil well enough so that a square 
one inch each way could be copied fairly well. The child's 



124 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

memory has developed to such an extent that if four numbers 
are repeated to him at the rate of one per second he should be 
able to repeat them in correct order at once. Three trials 
should be allowed and at least one of the three should be right- 
By this time, also, a sentence of twelve or thirteen syllables 
should be remembered correctly. The sentences used by 
Terman are: (1) "When the train passes you will hear the 
whistle blow." (2) "We are going to have a good time in the 
country." (3) "The boy's name is John. He is a very good 
boy." The method of getting the child's attention and leading 
tip to these longer sentences is the same as was described under 
Year Three. 

The child's judgment has developed by this time through ex- 
perience and precept to the point where an inquiry from the 
examiner as to "What must you do when you are sleepy?" 
will bring forth a response indicating that one should go to 
bed and sleep. The question of "What must you do when you 
are cold?" should bring forth some such reply as, "Put on a 
coat," "Build a fire," or "Stand next to the radiator." The 
question, "What must you do when you are hungry?" should 
bring forth such answers as "Buy some lunch," "Drink some 
milk," or "Eat something." 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The method of scoring is briefly indicated in the list of 
typical performances printed on pages 115-117. The three 
tests at age three months are each to be given one month credit. 
The three tests at six months are likewise to be given one month 
credit for each successful performance, as are the six tests at one 
year. The six tests at two years, the six at three years, and the 
six at four years, are in each case to be given a credit of two 
months each. The child who did everything in the entire test 
correctly would then have demonstrated the mental ability of 
the average child of four years or older. The child who com- 
pletes all of the tests at three months and one of the tests at six 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 125 

months would then be rated as having mental ability typical 
of a four-months-old-child. If the child were to fail on only one 
of the tests at one year but to pass all those previous to one 
year, his mental age score would be eleven months, according to 
this system of assigning credits. It will frequently be found 
that a child does not pass all of the one-year tests before 
being able to do one or two of the two-year tests and so on. 
This should not make it more difficult to score the test, for 
each particular performance has its value indicated in the 
list wmich was given above. 

It cannot be claimed that these tests, especially those below 
the three-year-old level, have been fully standardized. They 
are, however, very much better than the average parent or rela- 
tive would be able to prepare for him or herself. The mental 
age score which will result from the use of these tests is not as 
reliable as will result from the use of the Stanford Revision of the 
Binet tests with older children, but its reliability is sufficient to 
point out cases of retardation in intelligence or of distinct bril- 
liance of mind. 

Three Months 

Control of Eyes. Both of the eyes should look in the same 
direction and the child should be able to follow with its eyes the 
movements of bright objects in order to obtain credit in this 
test. 

Hearing. It will not be necessary for the child to react with a 
start or scream to loud noises and also to react by turning the 
eyes in the direction of less startling noises in order to obtain 
credit for hearing. Either evidence, if clear, will be sufficient 
to warrant giving credit. 

Muscular Control. The grasping of a pencil or rattle should 
not be taken as sufficient evidence of muscular control. The 
ability of the child, however, to move his hand directly to his 
mouth as described above will be in itself abundant evidence 
that the child merits a credit in this test. 



12G MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Six Months 

Muscular Control. Either balancing the head or sitting with 
some support for as much as ten minutes should be accepted as 
worthy of credit. 

Self -direction. The attempt to pull himself to a sitting 
posture should not be taken by itself as evidence of credit in this 
test. Only when it is accompanied by one of the other two 
evidences should it be credited. 

Enjoyment. Any two of the evidences of pleasure or dis- 
pleasure listed may be taken together as indication of credit 
being deserved. 

One Year 

Imitation of Movement. Any one of the movements described, 
which the child learns within a short time by imitation, should 
give credit in this test. 

Locomotion. Either of the two methods of demonstration 
will be sufficient. 

Understanding. At least three familiar objects should be 
used in this test with success before credit is allowed. 

Obedience. At least two simple commands should be under- 
stood and obeyed before allowing credit. 

Speech. Not less than three different syllables should be 
used before credit is allowed. 

Calling Attention. No credit should be given at this point 
unless the child very evidently attempts to excite interest and 
attention in two or three different objects. 

Two Years 

Speech. Any four distinct articles mentioned by the child 
when it desires them should be sufficient evidence to give credit 
here. 

Pictures. At least four different objects should be recognized 
and pointed out before credit is allowed. 






THE MENTIMETER TESTS 127 

Obedience. Two simple commands of the type mentioned 
should be sufficient to bring credit at this point. 

Imitation. Only after repeated evidences of imitation of 
other children should credit be given here. 

Discernment. Repeated evidences should be required before 
credit is allowed for this test. 

Self-direction. Any one of the evidences described is sufficient. 



Three Years 

Parts of the Body. Three out of four parts mentioned should 
be pointed out before allowing credit. 

Familiar Objects. Three out of five of the objects mentioned 
must be named in order to obtain credit here. 

Pictures. The child should name at least three objects in 
one of the three pictures in order to obtain credit. 

Sex and Name. Accuracy is necessary here. 

Repeating Syllables. One of the three sentences should be 
repeated absolutely without error. 



Four Years 

Forms. Out of ten trials, at least seven should be correct in 
order to obtain credit. 

Counting. No error should be allowed. 

Copying. Out of three attempts, at least one should be fairly 
regular and distinctly recognizable as a square. 

Comprehension. Success must be attained in two of the three 
questions in order to receive credit. 

Repeating Numbers. One out of three trials should be ab- 
solutely correct. 

Repeating Syllables. One of the three trials should be with- 
out error or two of the three trials with not more than one slight 
error in each. 



128 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 






The matter of nourishment and physical well-being may re- 
tard a child to such an extent that his intellectual development 
is delayed. Great care should, therefore, be taken not to inter- 
pret a low score on this test too seriously. It should also be 
noted that familiarity with the test is quite certain to cause 
parents to put forth special effort to instruct the child along the 
lines required by the test. The test itself is thereby invalidated. 
Only when no special instruction has been given at any point 
covered by the test can one be satisfied that he is obtaining a fair 
measure of the child's ability. 

The test booklet supplied for this test is not for the use of the 
candidate being examined but for the examiner to use as a guic 
and record of the examination. One such booklet should h 
used for each individual examined, in order to be certain the 
no test is omitted or wrongly scored and in order to have a recor ' 
for comparison with future tests of the same individual or ( 
other individuals. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 129 

Mentimeter No. % 
PICTORIAL ABSURDITIES 

Nature of the Test. 

One of the most popular tests in the Army Beta series was 
the mutilated pictures test, in which the soldiers were to draw 
into each picture what had been omitted. One great difficulty 
with this test was the tendency of intelligent men to spend far 
too much time trying to draw artistically the missing parts. 
The present test is a modification of that test, so arranged that 
instead of the candidate being required to draw a missing part 
he is only asked to make a check mark at the point where there 
is something that does not fit the remainder of the picture. 

The test booklet is arranged with two samples on the title 
page to show clearly what is to be done when the candidate 
opens his booklet. By having these samples painted on the 
wall or blackboard, it would be possible to give the test to large 
groups of persons at once, although the directions given below 
are for testing one individual only at a time. Although listed 
as a test for non-English-speaking persons, some oral direction 
should accompany the motions by which the test is to be given, 
and English-speaking persons may be examined by this test as 
readily as those who speak a foreign language. 

The graduation of the pictures according to their approximate 
difficulty makes the score in this test a real measure of the degree 
of absurdity which an individual can detect. The pictures 
themselves were chosen from as wide a field as possible in order 
to avoid undue advantage to persons of one type of experience 
rather than another. Only intelligent persons of fairly wide 
general experience will be a.ble to make a perfect score in the 
time allowed. 



130 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

The examiner and the candidate to be examined should be 
comfortably seated at a table with the examination booklet be- 
tween them. If it is discovered that the candidate is left- 
handed, the examiner should sit on the left, although under 
ordinary circumstances the examiner should sit on the right. 
The blanks on the title page of the booklet should be filled out 
by the examiner from any records he may have of the name and 
age of the candidate (if persons who read and understand 
English are being examined, several may be tested at once and 
each may be asked to fill out the blanks for himself). For 
persons who do not understand the English language the words 
which are used in the following explanations will be more sug- 
gestive than informing. The chief part of the demonstration 
will be the motions through which the examiner goes, and there- 
fore great care should be taken that these be as suggestive of 
what is wanted as the examiner can make them. To secure 
uniformity of procedure the routine outline below should be 
carefully followed. 

The booklet should be opened by the examiner and the pic- 
tures exhibited for not more than twenty seconds to the candi- 
date, the examiner pointing from one to another of the first 
half-dozen pictures. He should then close the book and call the 
attention of the candidate to the picture of the rabbit on the 
title page. He should point to the rabbit's ear and then point to 
the inappropriate ear and shake his head. This pointing to the 
two ears and shaking the head when pointing to the wrong type 
of ear may be repeated as many as three times in order to im- 
press on the candidate that one of the ears is inappropriate. He 
should then take his pencil and make a check mark above the 
ear which is incorrect. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 



131 



Mark (tf) the thing that is wrong 




The examiner should then point to the second picture on the 
title page and look questioningly at the candidate. Ke may 
then point to the chin of the face represented and nod his head, 
"yes." He may next point to the nose and nod his head, "yes," 
but when he points to the place where the eye should be he should 
shake his head, "no," and pretend to look for the missing eye. 
When found, he should make a check a mark over the misplaced 
eye and smile at his achievement. If special emphasis seems 
necessary he may point again to the eye in its inappropriate 
position, and shake his head, repeating the check mark above it. 

If the candidate understands but does not read English the 
examiner may trace with his finger while reading aloud the direc- 
tions printed above the test pictures. "Mark (-j/) the thing 
that is wrong." Exactly three minutes (180 seconds) should 
be allowed from the time the examiner opens the book and furn- 
ishes the candidate with a pencil. 



Mark (■/) the thins that is wrong 




132 



Mark (yO the thing that is wrong 











133 



Mark (#') the thing that is wrong 







16 


























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1 


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2 


3 


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4 


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5 


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6 


MM 
7 


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Mark (f) the thing that is wrong 








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batseS /Sf\ 

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21 
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135 



1S6 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

At the end of the three minutes the paper should be removed 
and scored according to the following directions. 

Direction for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is the number of pictures in which 
the absurd element has been identified and checked. The 
stencil furnished with the test booklets shows exactly where 
each check mark should be made thereby saving some time for 
the person who marks the test. Where the proper element has 
been checked and the check mark later removed, no credit should 
be given. Credit should only be given where the final judgment 
as expressed by the check mark corresponds to the key furnished 
with the booklets. 

A score from to 6 indicates Inferior Ability 

" " " 7 " 10 " Low Average Ability 

" " " 11 " 17 " Average Ability 

" " " 18 " 20 " High Average Ability 

•« " " 21 " 24 " Superior Ability 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 137 

Mentimeter No. 3 
MAZE THREADING 

Nature of the Test. 

A great many experiments have been made upon different 
types of animals to determine how long it would take them to 
learn to secure their food by going through an unusual "stunt" 
or travelling over a circuitous route. Mice have been taught, 
for example, to travel a long distance and through complicated 
mazes to secure their food, which is in such cases usually placed 
at the centre of the maze. The effectiveness of learning to 
thread a maze as a test of the intellectual capacity of the lower 
animals is probably not superior to the effectiveness of the same 
sort of learning as a measure of the intelligence of human beings. 
It is not possible, however, to include in a book the long passage- 
ways and blind alleys which would necessarily have to be built 
out of pretty substantial material in order to keep men from 
breaking over its sides, but the idea has so far as possible been 
carried out in the tests which follow. It is quite certain that 
the ability to trace through a printed maze with a pencil is not 
equal to the ability to walk through a specially constructed 
maze of steel, but it is as near the same problem as can be ar- 
ranged on paper and printed in quantity. 

The arrangement of mazes in this member of the Mentimeter 
family is such that the number of mazes successfully threaded is 
a distinct indication of the complexity of maze which the individ- 
ual can successfully negotiate. The test is intended to measure 
the ability of any individual whether he can read or understand 
the English language or not. If the two examples shown on the 
title page are presented on a blackboard, or other large surface, 
the test may very easily be given as a group test by a skilful 
examiner, although the directions which follow are prepared for 
the examination of one individual at a time. 



138 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 



Directions for Giving Hie Test. 

The examiner should be seated at a table at the right side 
of the candidate to be examined. He should first of all secure 
the information regarding the candidate's name, age, and other 
important items, and should then exhibit the mazes which ap- 
pear inside the booklet, pointing from one to the other in the 
first half dozen. Not more than thirty seconds should be al- 
lowed for this part of the instruction. Turning back to the title 
page the examiner should point to the first example, pointing 
first at the entrance and then to the exit. By a motion at each 
of these two cardinal points, made in the direction in which 
the arrow points, he should make it clear that the idea i* to move 
in the direction indicated by the arrows. He should then trace 
his way fairly slowly from the entrance to the exit. 



r 



Show by a line how you would pass through the drawings 
below without touching any line 



k ^ 



*»%.« 



El 



\.# 



Pointing to the second maze, first to the entrance and then 
to the exit, the examiner should again signify that motion is to 
occur at these two points. With his pencil as before he should 
trace his way from the starting point to the finish, making not 
more than one error, which he should correct by returning over 
the same route to the point where it was made without lifting 
the pencil from the paper. 

If the candidate can understand the English language the 
examiner should then read the directions above the examples. 
"Show by a fine how you would pass through the drawings 
below without touching any line." 






Show by a line how you would pass through the drawings 
below without touching any line 



it 






8 



IT 



139 



(over) 



Show by a line how you would pass through the drawings 
below without touching any line 

10 







11 







L. 



13 






^j 





g 



T 




140 



Show by a line how you would pass through the drawings 
below without touching any line 





(over) 



141 



Show by a line how you would pass through the drawings 
below without touching any line 



19 



fU 



J? 



£ 



rud: 




142 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 143 

The examiner should then open the booklet and give it to the 
candidate with the instruction to begin at number 1 and trace 
his way from the starting arrow to the finish. No demonstra- 
tion should be made on the mazes which appear inside the book- 
let. 

Exactly four minutes after starting the test the examiner 
should stop the candidate and remove the pencil. 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The total score in this test is the number of mazes correctly 
threaded without error. Where a line has been crossed through 
accident or unsteady holding of the pencil no penalty should 
be taken, but if a line has been crossed and not recrossed to 
correct the defect, no credit should be given for that particular 
maze. Full credit should be given for the maze as being com- 
plete if the line stops at a point somewhat before reaching the 
finish arrow, provided there is a straight path from the end of 
the line drawn to some part of this sign of the exit. 

Scores from to 5 indicate Inferior Ability 

" 6 " 10 " Low Average Ability 
" 11 " 16 " Average Ability 
" 17 " 18 " High Average Ability 
" 19 " 20 " Superior Ability 



144 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 



Mentimeter No. 4 

DOT PATTERN CORRECTION 

Nature of the Test. 

The ability to recognize small elements of discord in an other- 
wise symmetrical pattern is the feature which this test is planned 
to measure. The test is very simple, even the most difficult 
elements in it being very easy of solution. A pattern composed 
of dots is presented, one dot being included which does not fit 
the remainder of the pattern. The candidate is required to 
locate this extra dot in each pattern and to draw a circle around 
it, indicating that it should be removed. Although an attempt 
has been made in this test to arrange the elements in the order 
of their difficulty, the last one in the series is so simple that al 
most any one can locate the defect in a short time. For this 
reason the test will not have wide usefulness except as a means of 
diversion. The method for this test is borrowed directly from 
the work of Doctor Pressey of Indiana University. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

The directions herewith presented are intended to be used by 
the examiner in testing one foreign-speaking individual at a 
time. It would be easily possible to paint on the wall the ex- 
amples given on the title page or to put them on a blackboard 
in such a manner as to enable the examiner to test quite a large 
number of persons at the same time. 

Draw a ring around the extra dot 




® 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 145 

The examiner should demonstrate to the candidate first of all 
the nature of the contents of the booklet and then should take 
up the two examples appearing on the front page. He should 
trace the direction of the different lines in the pattern with his 
pencil (without touching the point of the pencil to the paper) 
and should finally draw a small circle about the extra dot. After 
this circle has been drawn it would be suggestive to the candi- 
date to trace out again the pattern of the example. When the 
candidate seems to get the idea, or when both examples have 
been demonstrated, he should be given a pencil and the opened 
blank with directions to go ahead. Only two minutes should be 
allowed for this work, at the end of which time the blanks should 
be taken from the candidate and scored according to the following 
directions. 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is the total number of patterns in which 
the extra dot has been correctly pointed out. In many cases 
the extra dot is located in the centre of the pattern so that there 
is no really unsymmetrical element in the test, but this should 
not interfere with the scoring. The stencil provided with the 
test booklets makes it somewhat simpler to score than it would 
otherwise be. 

Scores from to 8 indicate Inferior Ability 

9 " 14 " Low Average Ability 
" 15 " 20 " Average Ability 
of 21 or more indicate High Average or Superior 
Ability 

(see next pages for the tests.) 



Draw a ring around the extra dot 



• • 



• » » 



• * 



• • • 



• • • • 



r 




• • • • 



• • • • 



« • • • 



« • • • 



• • ■ 



io- 



146 



TT 



Draw a ring around the extra dot 




148 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Mentimeter No. 5 
DIVIDING GEOMETRICAL FIGURES 

Character of the Test. 

This test is very easily used as a group test with people who 
can understand spoken English. The test is also capable of 
being given to groups of illiterate or foreign -speaking individ- 
uals, if the examples used in the explanation are painted on a 
large blackboard to be placed in the front of the room in full 
view of all those taking the examination. In the absence of 
such a special blackboard, the test may be used as an individual 
test with illiterate or foreign-speaking persons. 

Fifteen geometrical figures, such as squares, circles, triangles, 
and the like, are presented on three pages of the examination 
booklet. To the left of each figure are two or more small figures 
which, when properly arranged, form the large figure on the 
right. The problem of the candidate is to draw a line or several 
lines in the large figure on the right to indicate how it might be 
divided to make up the small pieces shown on the left. The 
first figures are quite simple and may be very readily done by 
drawing one or two lines. The problems on the third page 
require from three to five lines to be drawn and are distinctly 
more difficult than the problems appearing on the previous 
pages. 

It is very difficult to say exactly what functions of the mind 
are measured by this test. The greatest difficulty with the 
test is that a rather high minimum of intelligence is required in 
order to understand what is necessary or desired. The two 
examples appearing on the title page of the test booklet are not 
sufficient to demonstrate clearly to the dull person just what 
he is to do. It is probable that dull people will succeed very 
much better in this test if it is given as a test for foreigners, 
using the special blackboard. The examiner could, in that case, 
draw a line with chalk to show what is expected. The printed 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 149 

directions on the test blank have been made as simple as pos- 
sible, but they are not wholly satisfactory for the lower ranges 
of intelligence. 

The scoring of this test is somewhat more difficult than for 
the majority of the other Mentimeter tests. It is intended that 
one point of credit shall be given for each large figure properly 
divided. The difficulty comes in being sure that the candidate 
has intended to draw his lines at exactly the proper place. In- 
accuracy may be the result of not knowing where the lines should 
be placed, or it may be the result of careless execution. If a 
line is misplaced through careless execution, when it is perfectly 
clear that the right idea was present in the candidate's mind, 
full credit should be given for that element of the test. If it is 
not certain that the candidate understood where the line should 
be drawn, no credit should be given for that particular figure. 

The stencils, which are supplied with each package of test 
booklets, should be placed to the left of the five geometrical 
figures and comparison should be made between the dotted 
lines of the stencil and the marks made by the candidate in the 
corresponding figure on the examination sheet. In the first 
square, for example, full credit should be given whether the line 
is drawn horizontally or vertically through the figure. The 
important thing is that two equal rectangles should be created 
by drawing a single line. Similarly, for each other figure, the 
important point to be considered is whether or not the lines 
drawn do form the geometrical figures shown on the left. A 
little practice will make it possible for the clerk who scores 
these tests to lay aside the key itself and to carry it in memory. 

Various forms of this test have been used by psychologists 
for a number of years, although its most extensive use was in the 
Beta series of the United States Army. The same test in modi- 
fied form was used by Prof. E. L. Thorndike in his tests of 
mental alertness in the air service. Many individuals were 
found who could do this test fairly well without being able to 
succeed with some of the others which were supposedly equally 



150 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

as good for general purposes. On the other hand, many in- 
dividuals of good general ability were found who seemed lacking 
in the particular type of ability necessary properly to divide 
these geometrical figures. On the whole, however, the more 
intelligent men made higher scores than the less intelligent men. 
Such low relationship between this particular test and other 
tests of intelligence makes it particularly useful as one of a series 
to be used for measuring the intelligence of men entering cer- 
tain mechanical trades where the recognition of the size and 
shape of objects is of prime importance. Draftsmen, architects, 
supply clerks, and candidates for similar positions would prob- 
ably be rated more accurately by this test than would writers, 
musicians, and academic students. 

In the public schools such a test might give some indication 
of the ability of children to succeed in mechanical or mathe- 
matical courses of study. In social gatherings, a great deal of 
amusement might be found by giving prizes to the individuals 
completing the entire fifteen figures correctly and in the shortest 
time. It would seem desirable, however, to omit the time 
limit when it is used for pure entertainment and to measure with 
a stop-watch the exact amount of time required for the individ- 
ual. When all had finished the fifteen elements of the test, the 
papers could be checked up for accuracy and the prize could be 
given to the one who had finished correctly in the shortest length 
of time. This will add an element of interest for it is quite cer- 
tain that some of those who finished first will have made errors, 
probably through careless execution, and that someone who 
finished later in the game will have drawn each line correctly. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 
a. As an individual test. 
The individual to be tested should be seated at the left side 
of the examiner at a convenient table. The examiner should 
show the inside of the test blank to the candidate and should 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 



151 



then point to the similar figures in the explanation on the title 
page of the booklet. He should then point to the large figure 




in the first example, possibly tracing its outline with his pencil. 
Then the attention of the candidate should be called to the 
parts appearing on the left-hand side. (Their outlines may be 
traced if it seems desirable.) Next, a movement should be made 
with the hand as though one were placing the parts upon the 
larger figure. This may be repeated two or three times, pointing 
first to the various parts in order and then to the large figure 
with a rather broad sweep of the hand. After such a study of 
the situation, the examiner should draw the proper line and 
exhibit a smile of pleasure at having successfully done the thing. 
He should point then to the parts of the large figure which are 
thus created and by jumping his pencil from one of the parts 
to the corresponding part on the left, he may fairly clearly dem- 
onstrate that he has constructed, by his line, elements which 
are similar to the elements appearing at the left. 

Similar pantomime may be used for the second example, pos- 



15<2 .MEASURE YOUR MIND 

sibly introducing a variation by getting a line incorrectly drown 
at the first trial, erasing it as soon as it is apparent that the parts 
do not correspond exactly with the parts appearing in the prob- 
lem, and redrawing the line so that the correspondence will be 
exact. The pencil should then be handed to the candidate and 
the pamphlet opened up for him to begin work. The candidate 
should be allowed to work for four minutes with occasional 
signals to "Go ahead," "Work fast" or "Hurry up." 

b. As a group test for illiterate candidates. 

A blackboard containing the two examples should be placed 
in full view of all the candidates in the room. The test blanks 
should be passed to the candidates, with well-sharpened pencils 
or pens and ink. The examiner should then hold up in full view 
of the group a test blank showing the three pages of figures on 
which they are to work. He should then get the attention of 
everyone to the work by saying "Look" or "Watch." With a 
piece of chalk, he should then go through the pantomime de- 
scribed above for giving the examination to an individual. Care 
should be taken that none of the brighter candidates begins work 
before the signal for everyone to work. When the two ex- 
amples have been thoroughly demonstrated on the blackboard? 
the examiner may turn to the group, open up his test blank, and 
point to the first page of work to be done and say, " Begin here," 
"Go ahead," "Work fast." At the end of four minutes, he 
should call "Stop," should collect all papers, making certain as 
he does so that some identification mark is present on the paper 
to show to which candidate it belongs. No special explanation 
should be given and no person in the group should be allowed 
to sit idle while the examination is going on. If it is clear that 
the individual has not understood, the examiner may say, "Do 
what I did," pointing to the board and then to the paper. In- 
dividuals may be told during the course of the examination, if 
they seem to be doing nothing, to "Make your marks." 

c. As a group test for candidates who can read English. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 153 

Place each candidate at a table or chair with a writing sur- 
face, supply him with a test blank and pencil or other writing 
instrument. While the candidates are being supplied, the ex- 
aminer should make the following statement: "Do not open 
this booklet until you are told to do so. I shall make explana- 
tions as soon as everybody is supplied." 

When all are ready, the examiner should hold up a copy of the 
test and speak as follows: "There are three pages of work to be 
done. The page before you shows two samples of the kind of 
thing you are to do. You will notice at the right a large figure 
and at the left several small figures. When properly placed to- 
gether, these small figures will make one of the large figures at 
the right. You are to draw a line, or several lines, through the 
large figure at the right in such a way as to make of it the small 
figures at the left. 

"Now look at the examples before you. Is there any one who 
does not see what line ought to be drawn in order to make the 
large figure show the pieces which appear at its left? You 
will have four minutes in which to do the work on the three 
pages. Work quickly, but be sure to draw your lines correctly. 
If you complete the fifteen figures before I call 'Stop,' look back 
over your work to see that you have made no mistakes." 

If any candidate signifies that he does not understand, the 
examiner might draw an imaginary line with his hand to show 
the direction in which the line should be drawn in order to divide 
the figure properly. As soon as it is certain that everyone 
understands how to divide the sample figure, the examiner 
should say: "Now work rapidly and draw your lines on the next, 
three pages." The time limit of four minutes should be fol- 
lowed exactly. 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The examination score, if each figure of the series is correctly 
divided, will be fifteen points. The stencils give but one solu- 
tion to each problem although solutions are possible in prac- 



Make the small figures by drawing lines in the large one. 









154 



Make the small figures by drawing lines in the large one. 




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Make the small figures by drawing lines in the large ones. 




THE MENTIMETER TESTS 157 

tically every ease by drawing the same lines in a different 
direction. The angle or direction is unimportant and there is 
no need that the lines drawn by the candidate correspond exactly 
in this respect with the lines on the stencil. The important 
thing is to see that the proper lines are drawn to make the 
necessary parts. The final score obtained by counting the 
number of figures in which lines are properly drawn should be 
entered at the lower right-hand corner of the title page of the 
booklet. 

Scores from to 2 indicate Inferior xibility 

3 " 5 " Low Average Ability 
" 6 " 10 " x\verage Ability 
" 11 " 13 " High Average Ability 
" 14 " 15 " Superior Ability 

In interpreting these results, it should be recalled that 
inferior ability in this line of work may be found in individuals 
who have average ability in some other intellectual fields. This 
test should not be used extensively until it has been proven to 
have a high degree of relationship with the characteristics re- 
quired in the group for which it is used as a selecting agency. 

Mentimeter No. 6 
COMPLETION OF FORM SERIES 

Character of the Test. 

The Completion test is always very satisfactory because it 
shows in itself just what should be done and does not require a 
great deal of special explanation. The Form-Series Com- 
pletion test is particularly valuable in that it does not depend 
upon the English language either in its content or in the expla- 
nations to be made of it. 

As with the majority of the other tests for non-English-speak- 
ing persons this test is here described as a test of one individual 



158 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

at a time, although it will be found very simple and easy to test 
a large group at the same time if the examples which appear on 
the title page of the test booklet can be painted on the wall or 
reproduced on a blackboard in such a way that the examiner 
can demonstrate to everyone at once just what is to be done. 
It is very desirable to examine large groups at the same time 
if the provision for such demonstration can be made. 

Previous Form-Series Completion tests have required the 
candidate to fill in the last characters of each line, everything 
being printed in order up to within a few sections of the end. 
The present form, in which the elisions are distributed through 
the series rather than being grouped at the end, has the ad- 
vantage that it may be made more difficult by far than the 
previous forms. Although this test probably measures a rather 
specialized type of intellectual ability, it is nevertheless suffi- 
ciently well graduated in difficulty so that the result obtained by 
it will show a close relationship to the result obtained in other 
more general tests. 

The problem of the candidate who is given this test is chiefly 
that of solving, from the rather meagre data presented, just 
what the serial order of the different forms may be. This un- 
doubtedly calls for a complex variety of special mental qualities, 
including imagination and abstract reasoning ability. Never- 
theless, it is hardly possible for the authors to make any sort 
of estimate of just where this test will be most valuable or just 
what it measures. It will certainly be interesting and enter- 
taining whether it works out to have any particular usefulness or 
not. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

The candidate should be seated at the left of the examiner in 
order that he may conveniently work upon the test booklet 
which should be placed on a table between them. After filling 
out for the candidate the information blanks giving name, age, 
and the like, the examiner should show for fifteen or twenty 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 



159 



seconds (not more than 20 seconds) the inside of the booklet. 
He should then turn back to the title page and demonstrate the 
nature of the test by means of the examples printed there. 



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Probably the best and most effective method of demonstra- 
tion is that of "jumping" the pencil rhythmically from one block 
to the next corresponding one to show the rhythmic sequence of 
the same symbols. When a block is reached in which the 
symbol has been omitted (but in which the samples have been 
crudely marked with a fine pen), the examiner should make an 
appropriate heavy mark such as is used in the printed sections 
of each series. After any symbol has been written on the ex- 
planation samples it would be very much worth while to skip 
rhythmically along the line making certain that the sequence is 
correctly followed. When it seems fairly certain that the 
candidate has grasped the rhythmic nature of the forms, the ex- 
aminer should open the booklet, give him a pencil, and say 
"Put them in." "Fix it up." "Go ahead." 

Allow exactly five minutes for this work. At the end of this 
time the examiner should take the paper and score it as directed 
below. 



Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is determined by the number of lines in 
which the candidate has entered the correct forms to complete 
the line perfectly. No credit should be given if any one of the 
sections remain unfilled or be filled incorrectly. The stencil 
which is furnished with the test booklets makes the task of 



160 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Fill in the missing forms 



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marking the errors very much simpler than it is without such aid. 
The total score obtained should be entered in the lower right- 
hand corner of the title page of the booklet. 

Scores from to 2 indicate Inferior Ability 

3 " 5 " Low Average Ability 
6 " 12 " Average Ability 
" 13 " 15 " High Average Ability 
« 16 « 20 « Superior Ability 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 161 

Mentimeter No. 7 
CHECKING IDENTITY OF NUMBERS 

Character of the Test. 

Bank tellers and other clerical workers find it necessary very 
frequently to compare signatures or numerical figures as to 
identity. A test might be arranged in which it was necessary 
for an individual to compare several sets of numbers all of the 
same length and general appearance. Such a test would, how- 
ever, resolve itself very largely into a test of speed. The present 
form attempts to eliminate some of the speed element and to 
take to itself as much as possible of the quality of measuring the 
complexity which is necessary to cause an error in the recogni- 
tion of identity. There are thirty numbers to be compared with 
another list of thirty in a parallel column. The first numbers 
have only two digits but the number of digits is increased fairly 
regularly until in the last pairs eleven digits in one column 
must be compared with the eleven digits in another. 

This test is probably as useful a measure of ability to notice 
small details as it is necessary to make. The chief objection to 
it will come from individuals who are not gifted by nature with the 
ability to think in terms of numbers . This objection is not serious 
and will not be as valid even in their own cases as those who make 
it are inclined to believe. The test may be given as a group test 
if some means be provided for demonstrating before the entire 
group at one time just what type of activity is wanted. The direc- 
tions given below are for giving the test as an individual examina- 
tion, but with slight modifications the same directions will serve 
quite well for group examination. It is not necessary, of course, 
for the candidates to understand the English language if the 
examiner is thoroughly effective in his pantomimic instructions. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

As soon as the proper record has been made of the age, the 
name, and location of the individual being examined, the ex- 



162 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

aminer may turn the test leaflet and exhibit the two columns of 
numbers which appear on the other side. This exhibition 
should not be made formally and should last not more than 
twenty seconds. The pamphlet should then again be placed 
title page up in front of the candidate. 

The examiner should then compare the identity of the num- 
bers in the first example. The best way to do this would be to 



1ST 2ND 

COLUMN COLUMN 



DIFFERENCE 



356 ... 356 . . □ . . □ . . A 

738 ... 758 . . □ . . □ . . B 

point first at the 3 in the first column then at the corresponding 
3 in the second column, nodding his head, "Yes." The same 
pointing from one column to the other should be done for 5 and 
for 6, the second column part of the pointing to be accompanied 
in each case by nodding the head, "Yes." As a summary of this 
first example, the examiner may place his hand over the entire 
three digits of the first column and then transfer it to the entire 
three digits of the second column and nod his head, "Yes," mak- 
ing merely a check mark ( j/) on that horizontal line under the 
word, "same." With the second example the same sort of pan- 
tomime may be used until 5 in the second column has been 
compared with 3 in the first column, which should be accom- 
panied by a shaking of the head and the verbal exclamation, 
"No, no!" The summary by means of placing the hand over 
738 and then over 758, with another, "No, no," may be omitted 
if it is quite clear that the candidate has grasped the idea. In 
either case the examiner should make the check mark under the 
word " different." The sheet may then be turned and the pencil 
handed to the candidate with the direction "Go ahead. Mark 
them all." Exactly two minutes should be allowed after saying, 
Go ahead. ' ' At the end of two minutes the paper should be taken 
by the examiner and scored according to the following directions. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 



163 



If the numbers in the second column correspond exactly with 
those on the same line in the first column, make a check mark 
in the square on that line under the word "Same." If the sec- 
ond set on any line differs in any way from the first, check that 
line under the word "Different." 



1st 


2nd 






DIFFER- 


LINE 


COLUMN COLUMN 




ENT 


NO. 


96 . . . 


96. . . 


• □ • 


. a . 


. . 1 


83 . . . 


88. . 




□ ■ 


a ■ 


. 2 


77 . . . 


71. . 




□ • 


a . 


. 3 


33 . . . 


35. . 




□ • 


. a • 


. 4 


82 . . . 


82. . 




. a . 


. a . 


. 5 


641 . . 


644 . 




□ • 


a . 


. 6 


956 . . 


956 . 




a . 


n . 


. 7 


507 . . 


507 . 




a . 


a . 


. 8 


9572 . . 


9752 . 




a . 


a • 


. 9 


1832 . . 


1832 . 




a . 


a . 


.10 


19560 . . 


19360. 




a . 


□ . 


.11 


94083 . . 


94083 . 




a . 


a . 


.12 


940817 


940847 




a . 


a • 


.13 


329506 . 


326506 




D • 


a • 


.14 


654938 


654938 




a . 


a . 


.15 


6998701 . 


6997801 




a . 


a ■ 


.16 


7105923 . 


7105623 




a . 


a . 


.17 


2501036 . 


2500136 . 




D . . 


a . 


.18 


3674462 . 


3674462 . 




□ • 


a . 


.19 


61558543 . 


61585543 


•— 


a . 


a ■ 


.20 


38910066 . 


39810066 . 




a . . 


a . . 


.21 


17198591 . 


17198591. 




a . . 


a . . 


.22 


685342017 


685342017 . 


a • 


a . . 


.23 


317762849 


317762849 . 


a . 


a . . 


.24 


102435867 


102435867 


a . 


a . 


.25 


3484657120 


3484657210 . 


a . • 


a . . 


.26 


4686726631 


4686726631 . 


a . . 


a . . 


.27 


6571018034 


6571018034 . 


a - . 


a . . 


.28 


38797625147 38797652147. 


□ - ■ 


a . . 


.29 


26557239164 26557239] 


64 


a • 


a • 


.30 



L64 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is the total number of pairs the identity 
of which has been correctly checked, minus the total number of 
pairs in which an error has been made in checking the identity. 
For example, if the last line checked was the twenty-fifth line 
while two lines had been omitted and errors had been made in 
checking three other lines, then only twenty lines had been 
checked correctly, and three lines had been checked incorrectly; 
so the resulting score would be seventeen points. The maxi- 
mum score obtainable is of course thirty points and will be 
obtained only in case every pair has been checked without error. 
It is possible with this method of scoring to obtain a score 
less than zero; for example, if a person had checked correctly 
ten of the identities and had made errors in checking fifteen 
others, the number of "rights" minus the number of "wrongs" 
would be minus five. In such cases the score to be entered on 
the lower right-hand corner of the candidate's title page is 
zero. 

The stencil furnished with the test leaflets makes it possible 
to mark this test with great rapidity and without mental fa- 
tigue. The point at which care needs to be taken is in making 
certain that the total score, computed by subtracting the 
number wrong from the number right, is correct. For this 
reason the reader is advised to cross out the "line number" of 
any pair incorrectly checked and to draw a circle around the 
"line number" of any pair not attempted by the candidate. If 
this is done consecutively down the page, there will be little 
difficulty in calculating the total score. 

Scores from to 8 indicate Inferior Ability 

" 9 " 12 " Low Average Ability 
" 13 "22 " Average Ability 
" 23 "26 " High Average Ability 
" 27 "30 " Superior Ability 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 165 

Mentimeter No. 8 
DIGIT-SYMBOL SUBSTITUTION 

Character of the Test. 

Ability to master a language is usually very closely related to 
general intellectual ability along academic or abstract lines. 
The relationship between the age at which a child begins to talk 
and the length of time required later by the same child to learn 
to use a foreign language would probably be found fairly close. 

The Digit-Symbol test has been used rather extensively and 
for many years as a form of measuring the ability of an individ- 
ual to learn a new method of expressing himself. Many ex- 
perimenters have used a Letter-Symbol test rather than the 
Digit-Symbol, but there seems to be little difference in the 
character of the results obtained. 

The Mentimeter form of the test follows quite closely the 
corresponding test in the Beta series used in the Army. At the 
top of the page there appears a key showing just what symbol 
should be used to indicate each number or digit. The test itself 
consists of 100 digits with empty squares appearing below them 
in which one is to write, beneath each digit, its corresponding 
symbol as shown by the key on pages 166 and 167. An intelli- 
gent person usually begins with the first digit and supplies the 
proper symbol for it at each place it occurs in the test; then 
begins with the second digit and goes through the entire test 
writing the symbol for it, and so on. Those of average in- 
telligence more frequently try to supply the proper symbol for 
each different digit in order as they appear in the test without 
going through the entire test with each symbol separately. The 
method of the candidate in doing the work should not, however, 
be allowed to influence the rating obtained on the test, except as 
one method may produce a higher score than another. 

Investigations which have been made seem to show that al- 
though the symbols used are quite distinctly more difficult to 



166 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 



write than the digits themselves would be, it is nevertheless a 
better test to measure the number of symbols the candidate can 
write under the digits than to measure the number of digits one 
could write correctly under their corresponding symbols. The 
relationship between ability in this test and general ability to 
handle ideas and abstract notions is rather remarkably close. It 
is probable, however, that if the test were lengthened so as to 
require five or ten minutes rather than two and one half minutes 
the correspondence with intellectual ability would be increased. 
This test will be very useful to employers seeking high-grade 
clerical service and probably in selecting administrative or 
supervisory officers. In the public schools it will be useful in 
some instances in classifying pupils for instruction. As a 
diversion in the home or social group it will have slight value- 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

This test has ordinarily been given as a test of several in- 
dividuals at the same time. It is probable that it will not be as 
useful when given to one individual at a time as when used as a 
group test. The instructions are given here, however, as with 
the remainder of the tests for non-English-speaking persons, 
with the needs of examining foreigners individually uppermost 
in mind. By reproducing on the blackboard or on a wall chart 
the introductory examples one may adapt with almost no change 



Key: This shows the mark for each number 



1 




2 

J! 




3 

3 




4 

L 




5 
U 



Make under each number the mark which should be there 



5 


1 


2 


6 


3 


1 


4 


3 


1 


4 


5 


2 


3 


4 


2 


V 


■*? 


N 


U 




i 





















THE MENTIMETER TESTS 



167 





the method of administration here described so that it will work 
equally well with a group. It is advisable to prepare such in- 


Key: This shows the mark for each number 




1 




2 


I-3- 
P 




4 




5 
U 




6 

O 




7 
A 




8 
X 




9 



Make under each number the mark which should be there 



3 


1 2 


13 2 1J4J2 3 


5 2 


9 


1 


4 6 


3 


1 


5 


4 


JLm 




^"Fii::! ■■: 


\ 






j 












IE 


7 6 


3 1 8 | ? S 9 5 4 6 3 


7 


2 


8 


1 9 


5 


8 


4 


E 


5 


J_kLiJJ_ I 












, 


- 






Z, 


3 


6 ( 9 L51 1 


9 2 8 3 


7 4 6 


5 


9 


4 


8 


5 


7 


6 




H"'LIj 


f±h 








*- 












9 


3 


8 614 1 5 


7 2 6| 


2 


4 811 


3 


4 


9 


5 


1 


7 






EJIZE 


■• ±j 


... 


L- 















3 15 




3m 



2 3 



3 



troductory charts and to give the tests as group tests rather than 

as individual tests, not only with the Digit-Symbol Substitution 

test but also with the other Mentimeters numbered from 2 to 10. 

The individual to be tested should be shown the page on which 



168 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

he is to work, for not more than twenty seconds, and should 
then be shown the two examples appearing on the title page 
under the printed instructions, "Make under each number the 
mark which should be there." The examiner should then 
compare his key and the digits appearing in the sample series and 
should write in the proper spaces the appropriate symbols. The 
idea of getting the symbol from a key will be emphasized and 
made clear if the examiner at each point moves his finger or 
pencil from the digit in the example to the digit in the key, then 
to the symbol in the key and back to the empty space beneath 
the digit in the example. When all the spaces of the example 
have been filled (this should be done very slowly at first and then 
more rapidly toward the end of the example), the examiner 
should open the booklet, supply a pencil, and say, "Now! Go 
ahead! Put them in! Hurry up!" 

Exactly two and one half minutes (150 seconds) should be 
allowed from the time the examiner says, "Go ahead," to the 
time he calls, " Stop ! " All papers should be closed immediately 
and handed to the examiner. 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is the number of symbols correctly 
supplied. Marking the errors is very much simplified by the 
use of the stencils furnished with each package of test booklets. 
The number of symbols correctly written should be recorded at 
the end of each line in the test and the total for all lines should be 
entered in the lower right-hand corner of the title page of the 
booklet. 

Scores from to 20 indicate Inferior Ability 

" 21 " 35 " Low Average xlbility 
" 36 " 65 " Average Ability 
" 66 " 75 " High Average Ability 
" 70 " 100 " Superior Ability 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 169 

Mentevieter No. 9 
COMPLETION OF NUMBER RELATION SERIES 

Character of the Test. 

This test may be given to any individuals or groups of persons 
who can read and understand the arabic numerals. The direc- 
tions furnished herewith are for the measurement of a group 
rather than of an individual, although with very slight mod- 
ifications in instructions the test leaflet may be employed in an 
individual psychological examination. The title page of the 
leaflet contains fairly complete directions and three samples of 
the number series to be completed. Persons who read English 
readily will have a distinct advantage over those who must 
depend upon oral instructions, but experience has shown that, 
even with individuals who do not understand the English 
language, it is possible to demonstrate on a blackboard, using 
the sample exercises, with sufficient clearness to enable foreign- 
language-speaking candidates to grasp the idea of the work to be 
done. No comparisons should be made, however, between 
results obtained by oral demonstration and results obtained 
through the use of the instructions printed below, without 
making allowances for the differences in method of administra- 
tion. 

The Number Relation Series test is so difficult to understand 
that it is hardly worth while to employ this test with children 
below ten years of age or with adults whose mental capacity is 
not equal to or better than that of the ten-year-old school child. 
The method of marking the test is quite simple when one is sup- 
plied with the stencil which is furnished with each package of 
test blanks. The present form of the test is somewhat different 
from those used elsewhere and it is difficult to say just what 
phases of intellectual or mathematical ability are measured by 
it. The Army intelligence tests included a number relation 
series test, so arranged that the last two numbers in each series 



170 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

must always be supplied by the person tested. Dr. Agnes 
Rogers, in her study of the prognostication of mathematical 
ability, employed a test which is very closely related to the 
one given here. Her results seem to show that this form of 
test is a splendid measure of mathematical capacity in high 
school pupils. 

It is probable that this test will have very little usefulness 
in the selection of employees in general, but that it may be 
found valuable in discovering within an organization persons 
whose mathematical aptitude would make them very useful 
in positions where the handling of figures is an important part 
of the employee's duty. In schools the chief value of the test 
will probably be in assisting in the diagnosis of special mathe- 
matical ability or lack of ability among pupils entering high 
school. As a game for social amusement, it is not probable that 
this test will be highly popular, except among those who are 
mathematically inclined. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

Having supplied each candidate with writing materials the 
examiner should announce as follows: 

"I am going to distribute to you copies of a test which is in- 
tended to measure certain special mental capacities. I shall 
pass it to you with that side up which contains the directions. 
Do not turn it over or examine the 20 problems which are to be 
solved. Write your name where it says 'Name' and fill in 
the other blanks on the title page." 

The blanks should be distributed, taking care that each candi- 
date receives the blank right side up and that no candidate turns 
it over before the command is given to begin work. When 
names, ages, and other identifying pieces of information have 
been entered the examiner should ask the candidates to look at 
the directions carefully while he reads them aloud. 

"The other side of this sheet has 20 series of figures, one or 
more of the figures from each series being left out. You are to 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 171 

look carefully at each series, to study out what kind of a series 
it is and then to write on the dotted lines those numbers which 
have been omitted. Look at the following samples. 

Write on each blank the number omitted 

2 4 6 8 10 .. 14 16 18 20 Sample A 

16 11 7 ., 2 1 1 2 4 7 Sample B 

% .. .. 2 2 3 2 4 2 5 Sample C 

"In Sample A each number is obtained from the previous 
number by adding 2 to it; therefore, 12 should be the number be- 
tween 10 and 14. In Sample B, each number is obtained from 
the next previous number by subtracting 1 less than was sub- 
tracted from the number before it — that is, 5 is subtracted from 
16 to obtain 11, 4 is subtracted from 11 to obtain 7, 3 should 
then be subtracted from 7 to obtain a 4 which is to be entered 
on the blank. In Sample C, every other number is a 2 and there- 
fore the second blank space should contain a 2. Between the 
2's appear numbers, each one of which is one more than the one 
which preceded it. On the first blank in Sample C there should 
be a 1 in order to carry out this scheme. " 

"You will be allowed four minutes in which to complete the 
16 series. Begin with the first and complete as many as you 
possibly can. Ready! Go!" At the end of four minutes 
after saying "Go" the examiner should call "Stop! Time up! 
Give me your papers." All papers should be collected at once. 

Unusual care will need to be taken in giving this test to avoid 
variations in the directions used with the different groups ex- 
amined. In order" to maintain absolutely comparable test 
conditions, no variations from the language and routine given 
above should be allowed. 



-1- 

64 


1 
3T 


16 




i 

4 


i 

2 


8 


15 




29 


36 


43 



172 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Write on each blank the number omitted 

12 3 4 5:. 7 8 9 10 Series 1 

10 12 if 16 18 -. . 22 24 26 28 Series 2. 

12 11 10 .. 8 7 .. .. 4 3 Series 3. 

1 3 .. 7 9 11 13 15 17 /% Series 4. 

V-/ 39 37 35 33 31 29 . . 25 23 Series 5. 

4 5 7 14 19 25 32 40 . . Series 6. 

2 . . 8 Series 7. 

57 64 71 Series 8. 



10 .. 15 16 20 21 .. 26 30 31 Series 9. 

2 .. 8 10 . . 10 20 10 26 . . Series 10. 

7 .. 10 11 13 14 20 Series 11. 

4 9 16 25 .. .. 64 81 100 Series 12. 



.. 4 7 14 17 77 154 Series 13. 

32 28 29 26 27 . . 25 Series 14 . 

6 10 13 15 13 10 . . Series 15. 

60 55 .. .. 46 45 .. 46 48 .. Series 16. 



Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is the number of series correctly com- 
pleted regardless of the number of blanks in the series. The 
maximum score obtainable will therefore be 16 points. The 
stencil furnished with each set of test leaflets will make it very- 
simple to count the number of series correctly completed. A 
convenient way of indicating that a series is not correctly com- 
pleted is to cross out the serial number of that series. To in- 
dicate that the series was not attempted one might draw a circle 
around the serial number of that series. The final score should 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 173 

be entered on the title page of the leaflet in the lower right-hand 
corner. 

Scores from to 1 indicate Inferior Ability 

2 " 4 " Low Average Ability 
" 5 " 8 " Average Ability 
" 9 " 11 " High Average Ability 
" 12 " 16 " Superior Ability 

It should be borne in mind that the type of ability measured 
by the above scores is not necessarily a true indication of the 
general efficiency of the possessor. 

Mentimeter No. 10 
ADDITION TESTS 

Character of the Tests. 

This Mentimeter is composed of two parts, one of them 
measuring the difficulty of the addition problems which a can- 
didate can solve, and being therefore a fairly good test of intel- 
ligence, the other measuring the speed at which one can add 
fairly easy problems and therefore having less relations to intel- 
lectual ability. 

Teachers in school furnish the children with certain informa- 
tion and knowledge or guide their pupils to the sources from 
which this information and knowledge may be obtained. In 
Addition, this information takes the form of "2 and 2 make 
4," "9 and 5 make 14" and such sums. The instruction also 
involves such things as how to carry in addition, how to add 
when a decimal point enters into the calculation, and all such 
problems. The teacher also undertakes a somewhat different 
task, which is the review and drilling of the pupils in order to 
make the combinations which have been explained automatic 
in the minds of the children. It is not sufficient for John to 
know that "3 and 5 are 8," but he must be able to write or say 



174 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

"8" without any hesitation whatever when 3 and 5 are to be 
added. 

In order to test the extent to which teachers have explained 
addition, one would measure the pupils with a test which in- 
creased in difficulty from the first problems to the last, under- 
taking to determine how difficult a problem can be solved. In 
order to test the rapidity with which the pupils have learned 
in their drill exercises to make the different combinations, one 
would measure the speed with which they can make the simple 
combinations. The first addition test which is given on page 175 
measures the extent of the information which the candidate has 
gained, while the second measures the speed which the candidate 
has developed by drilling upon addition problems. 

Teachers in the public schools will undoubtedly wish to 
measure both the speed with which their pupils do simple prob- 
lems as a result of drill, and the difficulty of the problems which 
the child can solve correctly as a result of instruction. Of 
course the test for difficulty of problems solved is not abso- 
lutely independent of the effect of drill, although it is relatively 
much less dependent upon drill than is the other test. 

In industrial organizations the first test given will prob- 
ably be found most useful, while in social groups the greatest 
amount of entertainment will probably be obtained from the 
second test. The reliability of the results from the first test is 
very much higher than the reliability of the results from the 
second test, for in the second case a difference of one second in 
time allowed may make as much as one or two points difference 
in the score obtained. 

As with all of the other tests listed in this series of "Tests for 
Non-English Speaking Persons," the Addition tests will bring 
more satisfactory results, with much greater economy of time, 
if they are administered as group tests. They are here described, 
however, as tests for individual candidates in order that they 
may be given to foreign-language-speaking candidates without 
any other apparatus than that furnished by the test booklets 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 175 

themselves. Any teacher or employer who has a number of 
persons to be examined should prepare a blackboard or wall 
chart on which to exhibit an enlarged copy of the examples used 
in the introduction. By placing this at the front of the room 
in full view of all candidates, the pantomimic instructions here 
described may be used for non-English-speaking candidates, 
or simple verbal explanations may supplement them for English- 
speaking persons. 

Directions for Giving Mentimeter 10a. 

The examiner, after securing from the candidate his name, 
address, age, and other pertinent information, should turn the 
examination leaflet and exhibit, for ten or fifteen seconds, the 
addition tests which are to be solved. The leaflet should then 
be turned over to the title page again and attention should be 
called to the examples appearing on the middle of this page under 
the heading "Add." The examiner should point to the first 

2 
example 2 and placing his pencil on the lower 2 and then upon 

the upper 2 should seem to hesitate for an instant and then write 

15 

4 underneath the line. Looking at the second example 3 

he should place his pencil on the 3 and then on the 5 and, with 
only an instant's hesitation, should write 18. Similarly, looking 

23 

25 
at the third example, 16, he should place his pencil first on the 6, 

then on the 5, then on the 3, and write a 4 underneath the line; 
then place his pencil on the 1 and then upon the two 2's in order 
and write 6 at the left of the 4. With this explanation the ex- 
amination booklet should be opened and a pencil supplied to the 
candidate with the instructions "Go ahead! Add them all!" 



176 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Mentimeter No. 10a. 






Add: 














(1) 


(2). 


(3) 


(4) 


(5) 


(6) 


(?) 


3 


2 


14 


45 


13 


23 


14 


2 


5 


3 


34 


21 


35 


45 


— 


1 


— 


— 


22 


30 


83 



(8) (9) (10) (11) (12) 



34 


197 


374 


796 


7065375 


67 


225 


49 


867 


8688256 


95 


659 


623 


745 


2315553 


52 


316 


5 


933 


1947272 


— ' 





548 


542 


3583419 






65 


213 
564 
235 
676 


5224362 
6869021 
8518488 
3493625 
2657176 



Four minutes' time should be allowed for this test. At the 
end of the four minutes the examiner should call "Time up" 
and take the paper. 

Directions for Scoring Mentimeter 10a. 

The score in this test is the number of problems correctly 
solved. No credit should be given for any problem unless each 
digit in the answer is present, correct, and in its right place. 
Scores from to 5 indicate Inferior Ability 

6 " 8 " Low Average Ability 
9 " 11 " Average Ability 
A score of 12 indicates High Average or Superior 

Ability. 

Directions for Giving Mentimeter 10b. 

The examiner should open the booklet and demonstrate to 
the candidate, for ten seconds, with just what nature of test be 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 177 

is to be confronted. Then, after securing the necessary iden- 
tifying information, the examiner should point to the problems 
on the title page under the word "Add." Pointing to the 1 in 
the first example and then to the 2, he should write 3 under the 
line. Pointing to the 4 and then to the 5, in the second example, 
he should write 9 under the line. Pointing to the 4 and then to 
the 7 in the third example he should write 11 under the line, and 
should then pass his pencil and the opened booklet to the candi- 
date with the instruction, "Go ahead! Add them up!" 

The most important point in this test is to make absolutely 
certain that exactly thirty seconds (no more and no less) is 
allowed from the time the examiner supplies the candidate with 
a pencil until the time he calls " Stop ! " Unless this time is kept 
absolutely uniform the results of the test will be hardly worth 
considering. Whether the candidate begins work or not, the 
time should be calculated from the instant he receives his pencil 
and the opened booklet. 

Directions for Scoring Mentimeter 10b. 

The score in this test is the number of correct answers ob- 
tained in thirty seconds. Unless an answer is absolutely cor- 
rect, it should have no credit. If an answer is only partially 
finished when time is called, it should not be credited as being 
the correct answer unless it is sufficiently complete in both digits 
to prove that the right answer had been obtained. 
Scores from to 9 indicate Inferior Ability 

" 10 " 21 " Low Average Ability 
" 22 "32 " Average Ability 
" 33 " 44 " High Average Ability 
" 45 " 60 " Superior Ability 



'8 


MEASURE YOUR MIND 








Mentimeter No. 


10b 




Add: 










(1) 


(2) 


(3) 


(4) 


(5) 


2 
4 


8 
9 


5 

1 


7 
4 


1 

5 








~~ 




(6) 


(7) 


(8) 


(9) 


(10) 


8 
3 


3 




4 
5 


6 
9 


2 
8 



(11) (H) (13) (14) (15) 

6 4 4 1 

7 3 6 7 2 



(16) (17) (18) (19) (20) 

3 7 2 9 6 

2 9 2 3 5 

(21) (22) (23) (24) (25) 

7 5 7 9 6 

6 2 14 8 

(26) (27) (28) (29) (30) 

3 7 6 4 5 

3 4 2 8 8 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 179 

Mentimeter No. 10b {continued) 

(31) (32) (33) (34) (35) 

9 9 7 5 

6 9 5 6 8 

(36) (37) (38) (39) (40) 

6 3 8 9 7 

8 7 7 6 5 

(41) (42) (43) (44) (45) 

[85578 

3 9 6 4 8 

(46) (47) ,48) (49) (50) 

6 7 9 2 7 

5 8 3 7 7 

(51) (52) (53) (54) (55) 

3 2 8 4 

17 5 9 7 

(56) (57) (58) (59) (60) 

12 8 7 7 

6 5 16 5 



180 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Differences between Mentimeter s 10a and 10b. 

In connection with these tests of ability in addition, a few 
additional words should be said to make somewhat clearer the 
differences between educational tests and tests of intelligence. 
There is, of course, no sharp line to be drawn between these two 
types of tests. Mentimeter No. 10b may be classified very cer- 
tainly as an educational test because it involves primarily the 
element of speed in simple additions which is not an accurate 
index of intellectual capacity but depends almost altogether 
upon specific drill. Improvement in ability to make a score 
in Mentimeter No. 10a will come much more slowly than in the 
case of the speed test in addition. Before a child can make 
progress sufficient to carry him from problem 5 to problem 6 in 
Mentimeter 10a, he must be instructed in the mysteries of add- 
ing zero to the sum of two other numbers. Before he can make 
progress from problem 6 to problem 7 he must learn to put down 
the 2 under the right-hand column of figures and carry the 1 
to the next column and add it with the digits printed there. 
Each additional problem that he solves involves some new ele- 
ments of arithmetic knowledge which can be learned only by 
careful study and one at a time. 

In the speed test a larger score does not indicate ability to do 
anything more difficult or to understand anything more com- 
plicated, but merely more rapid doing of the things which are 
already fully understood. In the other test, however, a larger 
score indicates greater comprehension of more difficult situa- 
tions and therefore an intellectual capacity which is of greater 
magnitude. 

The primary purpose of the Mentimeter tests is to measure 
intellectual capacity rather than school training. For this 
reason very few tests which may be classified as primarily edu- 
cational have been included. Where they have been inserted, 
they have been arranged to measure the ability of the person to 
do more difficult tasks rather than his ability to do simple tasks 
more rapidly. 



THE MENTXMETER TESTS 181 



Mentimeter No. 11 
MEMORY FOR NUMBERS 

Character of the Test. 

This test is planned as an individual examination to be given 
to any candidate who understands the English language. The 
test is borrowed directly from the Binet series and was used 
as a group test in the first form of the Alpha examination in the 
United States Army. 

The usefulness of this test is probably limited to the selection 
of candidates for very simple mechanical operations and to the 
classification of pupils in the schoolroom. It might be em- 
ployed as one of a series of tests in the selection of telephone 
operators, but its use in such a case is probably more obvious 
than practical. 

Directions for Giving the Test 

The candidate should be seated comfortably in a quiet place 
and should be instructed to listen carefully. The examiner 
should fill out the blanks at the top of the title page, recording 
only such facts as seem to be necessary. The examiner should 
then repeat the following formula: 

"I am going to read to you sixteen series of numbers. The 
first series will be very short and the last series will be quite 
long. When I have read a series I want you to repeat all of the 
numbers it contained. I shall read them slowly so that you can 
be sure to get them. Listen very carefully and try not to forget 
any number. Do not repeat any number until I have finished 
the whole series and stopped speaking." 

The examiner should announce each time just how many 
numbers will appear in the series. The digits should be read 
at the rate of one per second, taking care to avoid any rhythmic 
grouping of the numbers. The examiner should look up ex- 
pectantly as soon as he has finished reading a series. No in- 



182 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

timation should be given a candidate as to whether or not he is 
being successful. The first series should be read as follows: 

"The First Series contains two numbers which are, 5, 6." As 
soon as the candidate has repeated these numbers the examiner 
should say: 

"The Second Series contains two numbers which are, 2, 7." 



First 


Series 5 


6 








Second 


a 


2 


7 








Third 


a 


9 


3 


5 






Fourth 


it 


4 


1 


6 






Fifth 


it 


7 


4 


9 


3 




Sixth 


ti 


4 


8 


5 


7 




Seventh 


it 


9 


5 


7 


3 


8 


Eighth 


tt 


6 


8 


1 


2 


4 



Ninth Series 2 6 8 3 5 9 
Tenth " 6 3 5 9 2 7 

Eleventh " 9583624 
Twelfth " 8195263 

Thirteenth " 35268349 

Fourteenth " 28593614 

Fifteenth " 639481725 

Sixteenth " 714963528 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The examiner should keep on the test leaflet, out of the sight 
of the candidate, a notation of exactly which series cause failure. 
Misplacement of any digit in the series should count as an error 
and bring no credit for that series. The total score obtained 
by counting the number of series in which each number was 
correctly repeated in its right order should be written in the lower 
right-hand corner of the title page of the leaflet. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 183 

Scores from to 7 indicate Inferior Ability 

" 8 " 9 " Low Average Ability 
" 10 " 12 " Average Ability 
" " 13 " 14 " High Average Ability 
" " 15 " 16 " Superior Ability 

Mentimeter No. 12 
REPEATING NUMBERS BACKWARD 

Character of the Test. 

This test can only be given as an individual examination and 
to people who understand spoken English. The presence of 
other people in the room where the test is being given is fre- 
quently the cause of low scores. 

This test is borrowed bodily from the Binet series, in which it 
has won a distinct place for itself as a useful measure of the abil- 
ity to think about symbols and abstract ideas. 

This test will be of little value as an entertainment feature but 
will be useful to the public school teacher, or to the employer 
who wishes to have a brief but fairly accurate test to apply to 
individual people whom he may be considering for positions of 
responsibility. The reliability of the test is unusually high for 
an examination taking no more time than is required for this. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

The examiner should read the following instructions clearly: 
"I have twelve lists of numbers to read to you. I want you 
to listen carefully as I read each list, and when I say 'Now' you 
are to repeat the same numbers backward, that is, in the re- 
verse order. For example, if I should read the numbers, 3, 4, 5, 
when I said 'Now' you should repeat them 5, 4, 3. If I read 
9, 8, 7, you should say 7, 8, 9. You are to say the same num- 
bers I read, but you are to say them just backward from the 
way I read them." 
The examiner should read each series very distinctly and at 



184 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

the rate of one digit per second. About five seconds before the 
reading of each series the examiner should call the candidate's at- 
tention by saying, "Now listen to this set." Allow two seconds 
after reading the last digit of each series before saying "Now," 
or, "Now say them backward." If the candidate has not begun 
to repeat the digits within thirty seconds the examiner should 
say "Now try this set" and should read the next list to him. 



First 


Series 


5 


8 








Second 


a 


6 


4 








Third 


a 


3 


5 


2 






Fourth 


tt 


8 


4 


9 






Fifth 


it 


7 


3 


9 


4 




Sixth 


tt 


5 


2 


6 


8 




Seventh 


a 


1 


9 


2 


5 


3 


Eighth 


tt 


4 


2 


8 


9 


6 


Ninth 


tt 


8 


3 


6 


2 


5 


Tenth 


ft 


1 


5 


9 


6 


4 


Eleventh 


it 


2 


6 


3 


7 


5 


Twelfth 


tt 


3 


8 


2 


6 


4 



7 
7 

8 4 
7 5 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is the number of series repeated back- 
ward without error. Any misplacement in the order of the 
digits should be considered an error and no credit should be 
given for that series. The examiner will need to keep a record 
of just which series were correctly repeated, and will need to keep 
this record from the view of the candidate being examined, at 
least until after the examination is complete. 

Scores from to 4 indicate Inferior Ability 

5 " 6 " Low Average Ability 
7 " 8 " Average Ability 

9 " 10 " High Average Ability 

" 11 " 12 " Superior Ability 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 185 

Mentimeter No. 13 
MEMORY FOR SENTENCES 

Character of the Test. 

At the age of two years and frequently before, the vocabulary 
of the ordinary child has developed to such an extent that it 
contains two or three hundred individual words which can be 
used rather effectively. By the time the child is four years of 
age he has increased his vocabulary very extensively and can 
repeat entire sentences, if they are not too long, without error. 
The Mentimeter here provided is intended to measure the 
complexity and length of a sentence which an individual can 
repeat correctly after having heard it only once. The reliability 
of this test is not very well determined and its field of usefulness 
is almost as indefinite. It will be interesting in social groups as 
a recreation and will be useful to the teacher in comparing her 
pupils, but it is doubtful if it can be employed in industrial work 
with any large group of employees. It would seem that it 
might, however, be found valuable as a test of telegraphers, 
stenographers, and dictaphone operators. The fact that it is to 
be given as an individual test still further limits its usefulness. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

The examiner, after recording or having the candidate record 
on his leaflet the identifying information required, should repeat 
the following explanation : 

"I have ten sentences which I shall read to you slowly, one 
sentence at a time. You are to listen very carefully while I read 
and then after I have finished reading a sentence you are to 
repeat it to me exactly as it was read." 

Each sentence should be read only once. The reading should 
be done slowly and distinctly with sufficient emphasis to make 
clear the meaning of the sentence as well as the words spoken. 
The candidate should be encouraged to try each sentence and 



186 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

should not be informed as to whether or not his attempts are 
successful. The sentences to be read are as follows : 



1. It snows in the winter. 

2. Men usually have more dignity than boys. 

3. There is no excuse for being thoughtless about the rights 
of other people. 

4. The price of peace may sometimes be much greater than a 
nation can afford to pay. 

5. It is unfortunate that war should ever be necessary among 
civilized nations. 

6. Their harbour is a shallow body of water connected with, 
but protected from, the open sea. 

7. Conscience asserting itself as the voice divine within the 
human soul is then a real actuality. 

8. Each state appoints a number of electors equal to the 
whole number of senators and representatives. 

9. These discoveries— gunpowder, printing-press, compass, 
and telescope — were the weapons before which the old science 
trembled. 

10. The use of italic type is indicated in the author's manu- 
script by underscoring the letters, words, phrases, or sentences 
that are to be italicized. 



Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The candidate is to be scored as successful on each sentence 
repeated correctly, or repeated with the omission of not more 
than one unimportant word such as "the" or "a." The omis- 
sion of more than one word or of a word which changes or limits 
the meaning of the sentence should be considered as a failure to 
remember what was said. 

The examiner should keep on the test leaflet a note of just 
which sentences were correctly repeated and which were not. 
The candidate should not be allowed to see or know his record. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 187 

The total score is the number of sentences on which the candidate 
was successful. 



Scores from to 2 ind 
3 " 4 
5 " 6 
7 " 8 
9 " 10 



cate Inferior Ability 

Low Average Ability 
Average Ability 
High Average Ability 
Superior Ability 



Mentimeter No. 14 
SPEAKING-VOCABULARY TEST 

Character of the Test. 

One of the best measures of the intellectual capacity of a 
community or of a race of people is the complexity of the Ian- 
guage which they find it necessary to use in their life and social 
intercourse. The speaking vocabulary of a tribe or of an in- 
dividual is therefore an unusually accurate index of mental 
capacity. The present test of speaking vocabulary is designed 
to be used as an individual test for measuring the vocabulary of 
English-speaking persons. With some alterations in the direc- 
tions which are given below the test might be used as a group 
test, but the results from such a group test would be quite 
different and practically not comparable with the results to be 
obtained when the test is given according to directions. 

The individual to be examined need not be able to read Eng- 
lish but must be able to understand ordinary conversational 
words and sentences. The examiner pronounces very distinctly 
the word which appears on his list and asks the candidate to 
explain the meaning of the word. The list used by the ex- 
aminer contains fifty words, which are roughly graded, from the 
most common and well-known words used in every -day life up 
to very unusual and little-known words that would be found 
very rarely in newspaper or magazine articles. Any definition 
is accepted which shows that the candidate really understands 
the nature and use of the thing mentioned. 



188 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

This test is modelled directly upon the Vocabulary test in- 
cluded in the Stanford Revision of the Binet tests. It has been 
shown by careful scientific investigations that a test of this type 
is very reliable as a measure of general intellectual capacity. 
The excuse for having, at the end of the series, words which are 
little known and of no great practical value is that without such 
words it would be impossible to obtain a real measure of the 
vocabulary of writers, well-trained lawyers, and other specialists 
in the use of the English language. The good scientific test of 
intelligence always begins with elements which are so simple 
that the dullest mind will master them and progresses steadily to 
elements which are so complex and difficult that even the 
keenest minds have difficulty in reaching satisfactory solutions. 

A test of this sort measuring general vocabulary will be very 
useful to employers in the selection of stenographers and other 
clerical workers. In the public schoolroom teachers will find it 
very helpful in the classification of new pupils coming to their 
room for the first time or in the comparison of pupils who have 
been observed for a long period. The disadvantage of the 
test is that it must be given to one individual at a time. Such 
procedure makes it possible, however, for the teacher or the 
psychologist to study the more or less intangible attitudes and 
reactions of the pupil which cannot be observed in group examina- 
tions. These peculiarities of the pupil are of tremendous value 
to the trained psychologist or to the psychiatrist in making a 
careful diagnosis of special mental defects. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

This test should not be given in the presence of outsiders. 
The examiner should take the individual to as quiet a place as 
possible, should seat the candidate in a comfortable chair, and 
converse with him until he is thoroughly at ease and ready to 
answer any sort of question. The examiner may write on his 
list the response which is made by the candidate to each word in 
the vocabulary. The formula which should be used by the 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 189 

examiner should be as nearly as possible that of ordinary con- 
versation, although care must be used to avoid suggesting by 
the form of the question any clue to the proper response. Be- 
ginning with the first word, after introducing the general idea by 
some such phrase as "Now, I am going to ask you the meanings 
of a list of words," the examiner should say, "The first word is 
coat. What is a coat?" 

If the candidate does not seem to understand, the question 
may be repeated or it may be presented as follows: "You 
know what a coat is, do you not? Well, what is a coat? " 

Similarly, with the second word one could say, "What does 
the word buy, b-u-y, mean? What is the meaning of buy?" 
If the candidate does not understand, the question may be 
restated as follows : " Did you ever buy anything? What does 
the word bay mean? " Special care should be taken at all points 
to avoid suggesting the answer, giving special hints, discouraging 
the candidate or telling him whether or not he is being success- 
ful. He may be told at any time that he is doing well but he 
should not be informed whether his answer is correct or incorrect. 

Not more than forty-five seconds should be allowed to the 
candidate for thinking about any one word. At the end of the 
forty -five seconds the examiner should repeat the question. If 
at the end of thirty seconds after the question is first repeated 
the candidate has still said nothing, the examiner should pass on 
to the next word with this introduction, "Well, here is another 
word. What does the word 'book' mean?" Under no cir- 
cumstances should the candidate being examined be allowed to 
take or to see the word list. 



Speaking-Vocabulary Test. 




1. coat 


6. rent 


2. buy 


7. beef 


3. book 


8. law 


4. store 


9. disease 


5. piano 


10. doubt 



190 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 



11. judge 


31. 


socialism 


12. fortunate 


32. 


logic 


13. secretary 


33. 


revere 


14. royal 


34. 


sarcasm 


15. canal 


35. 


taunt 


16. greed 


36. 


opaque 


17. blond 


37. 


debutante 


18. wealth 


38. 


reparation 


19. permit 


39. 


decimate 


20. wisdom 


40. 


rheostat 


21. govern 


41. 


omniscient 


22. license 


^2. 


beshrew 


23. compete 


.*-43. 


cheetah 


24. Jupiter 


44. 


behemoth 


25. modesty 


45. 


oriel 


26. policy 


46. 


megalith 


27. measure 


47. 


myelin 


28. enthusiasm 


48. 


paleography 


29. percentage 


49. 


prosthetics 


30. league 


50. 


salep 



Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score of this test is the number of words which the candi- 
date demonstrates clearly that he understands and can use. A 
list is provided in the appendix showing the chief meanings 
and uses which are likely to be mentioned by the candidate. 
A repetition of a word by the candidate should not be counted 
as evidence that he understands. For example, the candidate 
who replies that "doubt" means "when you doubt something" 
or that "greed" means "when you are greedy" has not fully 
proved by such a reply that these words are familiar to him. In 
such cases as those just mentioned the examiner may well ask, 
"Does it mean anything more to you?" 

The best method of keeping record is to write on the test 
blank a notation of what reply was received, although it will 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 191 

be sufficient to make a check mark after each word satisfactorily 
explained and to cross out each word that is unknown if from 
his reply there is no doubt about the ability of the candidate 
to use the word. The maximum score obtainable in this test 
is fifty words. The score actually received should be entered 
on the title page of the test blank for purposes of record. 

Scores from to 10 indicate Inferior Ability 

" 11 " 20 " Low Average Ability 
" 21 " 30 " Average Ability 
" 31 " 40 " High Average Ability 
" 41 " 50 " Superior Ability 



Mentimeter No. 15 
WORD DISCRIMINATION 

Character of the Test. 

Intellectual ability has usually been attributed in the greatest 
degree to those people who were best able to use their native 
language. This test is calculated to measure the ability of 
individual candidates to discriminate between the meanings of 
different words. Insofar as ability to draw distinctions between 
similar words can be taken as a measure of intellectual capacity, 
this test will be found useful. 

It is quite certain to be entertaining as a social diversion and 
distinctly useful as a measure of the general familiarity of any 
child in the public schools with the English language. In- 
dustrial and commercial establishments may very well find that 
it has a distinct relationship to the kind of intelligence it would 
pay them to employ in certain parts of their organization. 

There is no simple way of converting this test into a group 
test because of the added complexity of the problem which is 
presented when candidates are asked to write their answers. It 
is very much simpler to explain the difference between two words 



192 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

than to write out the explanation. It is recommended that this 
test be given in a quiet place where no persons other than the 
examiner and the candidate are present. This rule, of course, 
will not apply when the test is used as a parlour game. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

The examiner should use the regular printed leaflet which 
contains the list of words to be explained. On the title page, 
he should enter such facts about the candidate as will identify 
him and satisfy the purposes of the investigation. The word list 
should not be shown to the candidate at all. The examiner 
should make a notation on his word list showing just what differ- 
ence was mentioned by the candidate for each pair of words. 

When the examiner has put the candidate at his ease and is 
ready to begin the test, he should read the following directions: 
"I have a list of twenty -four pairs of words. I shall read one 
pair at a time, and I wish you to tell me what differences you 
know between the two things mentioned. First, what is the 
difference between a bird and a fish?" If no answer is given 
within half a minute, the examiner may say: "You know what 
a bird is, do you not? You know what a fish is, don't you? Well, 
what is the difference between a bird and a fish?" No addi- 
tional help of any sort may be given and not more than thirty 
seconds should be allowed after the second asking of the ques- 
tion. The only formula to be used is: "What is the difference 
between and ?" 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 1& 

What is the difference between 

1. A bird and a fish? 

2. A snake and a fly? 

3. A pen and a pencil? 

4. An eagle and a chicken? 



5. A book and a magazine? 

6. An orange and a lemon? 

7. A teacher and a preacher? 

8. Luck and pluck? 



9. Stone and china? 

10. A balloon and an airplane? 

11. To plod and to plot? 

12. To wither and to shrivel? 



13. To surprise and to astonish? 

14. Rash and reckless? 

15. Lonely and solitary? 

16. Sorrow and sadness? 



17. Plutocrat and autocrat? 

18. A rascal and a rogue? 

19. To plunder and to devastate? 

20. To relinquish and to resign? 



21. Shrewd and sagacious? 

22. Dormant and quiescent? 

23. Reconstruction and rehabilitation? 

24. Reparation and indemnity? 



194 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is the number of pairs of words between 
which the candidate gives at least one real difference. The 
differences which appear in Appendix D are suggestive of the type 
of differences which may be mentioned by the candidate, but the 
list there furnished is not complete. One should not assume 
that the candidate knows the difference between the two things 
for which the words stand until the candidate has described one 
real difference pretty clearly. Such answers as, "Oh, they are 
different, entirely different," or " One is one thing and the other is 
something else" should not be considered as correct in any 
respect. The idea that the person knows a difference without 
being able to explain it should not influence in any way the judg- 
ment of the examiner. The difference must not only be known, 
but must be clearly expressed before credit is given for any pair. 

The total score possible in this test is twenty-four points. The 
total score actually made by any candidate should be entered in 
the lower right-hand corner of the title page of the leaflet. 

Scores from to 4 indicate Inferior Ability 

5 " 9 " Low Average Ability 
" 10 " 16 " Average Ability 
" 17 " 20 " High Average Ability 
" 21 " M " Superior Ability. 

Mentimeter No. 16 
NAMING OPPOSITES 

Character of the Test. 

The Opposites test in one form or another has been used for 
a long while with remarkable accuracy as a measure of one's 
familiarity with language and his general intellectual compe- 
tence. The Mentimeter form is superior to the ordinary form 
of the Opposites test in that it is fairly well graded in its diffi- 
culty, from simple problems to very difficult problems, thus 



THE MENT1METER TESTS 195 

securing an added value as an intelligence test. It differs from 
the Alpha form used in the Army in that it is necessary in the 
Mentimeter test to write the word which is the opposite of the 
key word given, while in the Army two words were given which 
might be opposites or synonyms and the soldier was asked to 
check whether the words meant the "same" or the "opposite." 
One difficulty with the military form was that if a man knew 
nothing at all about the words used, he would, nevertheless, by 
chance have half of his answers correct. In the present Menti- 
meter form, a man must not only use his judgment to decide 
between two words but he must have fairly rich associations 
between the key word and its opposites and be able to select 
from all of these associations the one which is most appropriate. 
This test may be given as an individual examination, but 
it is planned as a group examination for as many candidates as 
can be conveniently seated in the room provided for the exami- 
nation. Only persons who can read and write the English lan- 
guage should be tested with this Mentimeter. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

As soon as the blanks on the title page of the booklet have been 
correctly filled in, under the direction of the examiner, the candi- 
dates should be asked to read silently the directions printed be- 
low these blanks while he reads them aloud: "When you open 
your booklets, you will find on the inside forty words each fol- 
lowed by a dotted line on which you are to write a corresponding 
list of forty words. You are to write after each word the word 
which in your mind means just the opposite to the word that 
is printed. Notice the three samples printed below: 

On the line after each word, write the word which 
means just the opposite of the printed word. 
(Samples) A. bad good 

B. girl boy 

C. down up 



196 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

"The opposite of bad is 'good' and therefore 'good' has been 
written after the word 'bad'; the opposite of 'girl' is 'boy' and 
therefore the word 'boy' has been written after the word 'girl' ; 
the opposite of the word 'down' is 'up' and therefore 'up' has 
been written after the word 'down'. 

"You will be allowed exactly four minutes in which to write 
the opposites of as many words as you know in the list. Begin 
with the first word. Ready! Open your books ! Go to work!'* 

Exactly four minutes after saying " Go ! ", the examiner should 
call, "Stop! Close your books and hand them to me!" The 
papers should be collected immediately. 

On the line after each word, write the word which 
means just the opposite of the printed word. 

1. good 21. wild 

2. rich 22. strength 

3. little 23. innocent 

4. new . 24. wisdom 

5. hard 25. positive 

6. dark 26. inferior 

7. dirty 27. ancient 

8. sick 28. result 

9. north 29. stingy 

10. empty 30. abstract 

11. push 31. partiality 

12. wrong 32. diligent . . 

13. beginning 33. frugal 

14. narrow 34. spurious 

15. morning 35. elation 

16. nowhere 36. expedite 

17. stale. 37. diffident 

18. busy 38. homogeneous 

19. to float 39. intrepid 

20. smooth 40. sycophantic 






THE MENTIMETER TESTS 197 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is the total number of words for which 
the exact opposite has been written. Some considerable time 
will be saved by using the stencil provided with each package 
of test booklets. The total score as finally obtained should be 
written in the lower right-hand corner of the title page of the 
booklet. 

Scores from to 7 indicate Inferior Ability 

" 8 " 12 " Low Average Ability 
" 13 " 25 " Average Ability 
" 26 " 32 " High Average Ability 
" 33 " 40 " Superior Ability. 



Mentimeter No. 17 
SPELLING TEST 

Character of the Test. 

All of the investigations which have been made into the sub- 
ject of spelling in relation to general intelligence seem to indicate 
that good spellers are "born and not made." Of course intelli- 
gent people also are "born and not made." Strange to say, 
a person may be very intelligent without being an expert 
speller or a person may be a fairly able speller without being 
keen intellectually. This Mentimeter is therefore not to be 
considered as reliable an index of intelligence as most of the 
others. 

There are two methods by which one might determine the 
ability of any average individual in spelling. One might meas- 
ure how difficult a word was necessary in order to cause failure 
or one might take words all of the same difficulty and measure 
what percentage of them were misspelled by the candidate. 
List A in the series which follows is of the first sort, measuring 
how difficult a word must be before it causes trouble and List 



198 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

B is of the second sort, measuring how many words of the same 
difficulty can be spelled correctly by the individual tested. 
These words are selected from the Ayers Measuring Scale for 
Ability in Spelling. Mentimeter List A consists of two 
words from each degree of difficulty from B to Z in the 
Ayers list. Mentimeter List B is chosen from List R of the 
Ayers Scale. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

Whether the examination is to be with List A or with List B 
the candidates should be supplied with the Mentimeter leaflet 
and should be asked first of all to write their names, ages and 
other necessary information on the title page. When this in- 
formation has been obtained the examiner should read the 
following directions: 

" I shall pronounce to you a list of fifty words. You are to 
listen carefully and then to write on the blank provided for it 
the word which I pronounce. Be very careful to form your 
letters distinctly in order that I may know whether or not you 
know how to spell these words. Do not ask any questions, for 
I shall not answer them. Each word will be pronounced only 
twice, so listen carefully in order not to make it necessary to 
ask for a further repetition." 

The examiner should pronounce each word very distinctly. 
He should, before pronouncing the word, give the serial number 
of the word in order that it may be recorded on the proper blank 
by the candidate. The formula to be used should be as follows: 

"The first word is 'go,' — go." After waiting for ten or 
not more than fifteen seconds, the next word should be pro- 
nounced as follows: "The second word is 'at,' — at." 

It is the intention that each individual shall have ample op- 
portunity to understand the word to be spelled and to write his 
spelling of it, but that the conditions shall remain uniform for 
all. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 



199 



List A 



1. go 

2. at 

3. can 

4. run 

5. ten 

6. bed 

7. good 

8. little 

9. like 

10. book 

11. make 

12. hand 

13. tell 

14. five 

15. spring 

16. plant 

17. game" 

18. hard 

19. week 

20. mile 

21. summer 

22. express 

23. railroad 

24. ticket 

25. death 



26. learn 

27. district 

28. pleasure 

29. prison 

30. family 

31. factory 

32. president 

33. illustrate 

34. education 

35. century 

36. difference 

37. organize 

38. estimate 

39. foreign 

40. difficulty 

41. reference 

42. secretary 

43. athletic 

44. February 

45. preliminary 

46. annual 

47. decision 

48. principle 

49. judgment 

50. recommend 



200 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 



List B 



1. Christmas 

2. interest 

3. popular 

4. treasure 

5. search 

6. complete 

7. against 

8. consider 

9. tomorrow 

10. general 

11. distribute 

12. injure 

13. service 

14. article 

15. feature 

16. manner 

17. increase 

18. convention 

19. together 

20. diamond 

21. common 

22. purpose 

23. director 

24. attention 

25. already 



26. according 

27. provision 

28. object 

29. different 

30. prefer 

31. busy 

32. vessel 

33. prepare 

34. wreck 

35. promise 

36. illustrate 

37. secure 

38. adopt 

39. success 

40. toward 

41. machine 

42. publication 

43. visitor 

44. salary 

45. entertain 

46. wear 

47. education 

48. avenue 

49. combination 

50. forenoon 



Directions for Scoring the Test. 

No word should be given credit unless it is spelled correctly. 
If a word is so illegible that the examiner cannot easily tell 
whether or not it is correctly spelled it should be counted as 
wrong. The total number of words correctly spelled should be 
entered in the lower right-hand corner of the title page of the 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 201 

test leaflet, and should be followed by a notation of the list 
used. 

In List A 

Scores from to 20 indicate Inferior Ability 

" 21 " 35 " Low Average Ability 
" 36 " 45 " Average Ability 
" 46 " 50 " High Average or Superior 
Ability 



In List B 



Scores from to 10 ind 
" 11 " 24 
" 25 " 40 
" 41 " 46 

" 47 " 50 



cate Inferior Ability 

Low Average Ability 
Average Ability 
High Average Ability 
Superior Ability 



It is not to be expected that an individual's score will be the 
same exactly in List A as in List B or that his classification 
based on this score will be just the same. The two lists are not 
perfectly adjusted in this matter and if they were it would still 
be possible for a person of "Average Ability" in List A to obtain 
"Low Average" scores in List B. 

In public school work teachers will probably find List A more 
instructive than List B, although List B will be almost as useful 
in classifying pupils, especially when used in connection with 
the following table of average results. 

The average Second Grade pupil should spell 6 words in List B 
Third 
Fourth 
Fifth 
Sixth 
Seventh 
Eighth 



a a 


14 ' 


i a 


it 


it 


a a 


25 ' 


i « 


(< 


it 


a a 


net i 
OO 


( (C 


it 


it 


a a 


40 * 


* (t 


C« 


a 


a a 


44 ' 


i « 


(« 


a 


a a 


47 * 


i it 


(C 


«< 



202 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Mentimetkr No. 18 
RANGE OF INFORMATION 

Character of the Test. 

This test is a very entertaining and useful task for any group to 
work upon. It is based upon the assumption that general 
intelligence will result in the extension of one's general knowl- 
edge and information about affairs in many fields. The test 
requires, for its perfect solution, knowledge of all sorts of facts in 
a great variety of fields. 

The General Information test used in the Army Alpha series 
was very frequently subject to criticism from officers and men 
because not a sufficient number of questions was asked about 
matters which pertained to their own field of work. The 
physicians, for example, expressed regret that there were so few 
questions referring to medicine or anatomy, while the engineers 
were just as much inclined to believe that the test would have 
been improved had it included a larger number of questions 
applying directly to their field. Of course the purpose of the 
test is to avoid specializing in any particular field and to cover 
just as wide a range as possible of general information. 

An effort has been made to graduate the difficulty of the 
questions asked in the Mentimeter form of this test, in order to 
obtain as much additional merit as possible in the measurement 
of intellectual capacity. This test will be useful in almost any 
educational or industrial organization. It is probable, however, 
that its usefulness in school will not be as great as in life outside 
of the schools. As little of the material has been drawn froi 
educational experiences as seemed possible. A great deal of 
amusement can be obtained in a social group by reading aloud 
the answers checked by members of the group. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 203 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

When the candidates are comfortably seated and provided 
with pencils, the examiner should distribute the booklets 
to them with the request that they be not opened until directions 
are given. When the information blanks on the title page have 
been filled out satisfactorily, the examiner should ask the can- 
didates to read silently the directions printed on the title page 
while he reads them aloud. 

"On the inside of this booklet, when you are told to open it, 
you will find 40 different sentences, at the end of each one of 
which there is a list of words from which you are to choose the 
proper one to be the last word. When you are told to turn the 
page, begin with the first sentence and make a check mark (f ) 
in the little square in front of the best word to use as an ending. 
Choose the word which will make the truest sentence. Choose 
only one word for each ending. If you are not absolutely cer- 
tain which is the most truthful, make a guess and try the next 
sentences. Ready ! Go ! " 

(for tests see pages 204-207) 



204 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Make a check mark (j/) in the square in front of that 
one of the four words which makes the best sentence 
and tells the most exact truth. 

1. The JERSEY is a kind of Q COW Q DOG Q CAT 

□ HORSE 

2. GOLF is played with □ CARDS DDICE □ CLUBS 
Q BUTTONS 

3. FATIMA is the name of a Q CIGAR □ CLOTH 

□ PIPE □ CIGARETTE 

4. A SAW is used by a D PAINTER □ PLUMBER 

□ CARPENTER □ PLASTERER 

5. An EMERALD is □ GREEN □ RED Q BLUE 

□ BLACK 

6. DETROIT is noted for its □ BREWING □ TEX- 
TILES □ AUTOMOBILES □ PRINTING 

7. A SPANIEL is a kind of □ SHEEP □ GOAT □ DOG 

□ MULE 

8. MAUDE ADAMS is noted as a □ DANCER □ ACT- 
RESS □ NURSE □ WRITER 

9. CANDY is made by QFORD □ HUYLER □ COL- 
GATE OMACMILLAN 

10. The CIVIL WAR began in □ 1848 □ 1860 □ 1861 

□ 1865 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 205 

Make a check mark (j/) in the square in front of that 
one of the four words which makes the best sentence 
and tells the most exact truth. 



11. The SHERIFF is an officer of the □ CITY □ COUNTY 

□ STATE □ NATION 

12. RUBENS is famous as a Q POET □ SCIENTIST 
D CARTOONIST Q PAINTER 

13. The HARLEY DAVIDSON is an □ AUTOMOBILE 
D AEROPLANE Q MOTORCYCLE Q KITE 

14. MEREDITH NICHOLSON is a D HUMORIST 
D NOVELIST DPOET D MUSICIAN 

15. BUILT LIKE A SKYSCRAPER is an "ad" for a □ BED 

□ TRUNK □ FILING-CASE □ STOVE 

16. The KILOMETER measures □ ELECTRICITY 

□ DISTANCE DGAS □ WATER 

17. The TIBIA is in the □ LEG Q ARM □ CHEST 

□ HEAD 

18. CORAL is found in □ TREES □ REEFS □ MOL- 
LUSKS □ MINES 

19. CLYSMIC is a kind of □ WINE □ CLOTH 

□ WATER □ METAL 

20. UNCLE TOM'S CABIN was written by □ POE 

□ STOWE □ HAWTHORNE □ IRVING (over) 



206 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Make a check mark (\/) in the square in front of that 
one of the four words which makes the best sentence 
and tells the most exact truth. 

21. JOHN HAY was a Q BANKER □ ENGINEER 
□ PREACHER D STATESMAN 

22. VASSAR COLLEGE is at Q POUGHKEEPSIE 
D ITHACA □ BOSTON □ CAMBRIDGE 

23. A SUBPOENA is used in Q INSURANCE Q MEDI- 
CINE □ LAW □ WAR 

24. The number of a BANTU'S legs is □ ONE □ TWO 
DFOUR D EIGHT 

25. SAMPSON BRASS is a character in Q SCOTT D POE 
D DICKENS D BURNS 

26. The HANDLEY-PAGE plane is made in Q FRANCE 
D JAPAN D ENGLAND Q AMERICA 

27. The FALCON is an D INSECT D BIRD D TOOL 
D STONE 

28. DRIBBLE is a term used in □ HUNTING Q THE- 
OLOGY □ LAW □ ATHLETICS 

29. PHEZ is a D FABRIC □ DANCE □ GAME 
D DRINK 

30. HIGGINS manufactures Q FURNITURE □ BOOKS 
D GLASSWARE D INK 






THE MENTIMETER TESTS 207 

Make a check mark (]/) in the square in front of that 
one of the four words which makes the best sentence 
and tells the most exact truth. 



81. GUAVAisakindof □ FISH QBIRD □ ANIMAL 

□ FRUIT 

32. An EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE is also Q RIGHT 

□ ISOSCELES □ SCALENE DACUTE 

33. The BATTLE OF HASTINGS was in □ 1066 □ 1215 
D 1453 □ 1607 

34. The AORTA originates in the Q HEAD □ FEET 

□ ALPS D HEART 

35. ENDIVE is a kind of Q STONE □ TOOL Q PLANT 
D ANIMAL 

36. SEOUL is in □ PERSIA □ KOREA Q INDIA 
D SYRIA 

37. JOSEPH PRIESTLEY discovered Q PONGEE DAUS- 
TRALIA D OXYGEN □ PRINTING 

38. The OBOE is used in □ MUSIC Q MEDICINE 
D GEOLOGY □ RELIGION 

39. CHALLISisakindof □ DISH Q DRINK Q DANCE 
D CLOTH 

40. A RHESUS is a kind of D FISH Q BIRD D AN- 
IMAL □ REPTILE 



208 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

At the end of four minutes the examiner should call "Stop! 
The time is up ! " He should use care to see that no answers are 
checked after the signal to stop has been given. 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is the number of sentences in which the 
right conclusion has been checked. Credit should not be given 
for checking any other word than the correct one. The use of 
the stencil, which is provided with each package of test booklets, 
will save a great deal of eye strain, mental fatigue, and time in 
marking these tests. This stencil makes it possible for an 
ordinary clerk to score the 40 sentences accurately in a fraction 
of a minute. 

The total score in the test should be entered at the lower right- 
hand corner of the title page of the test booklet. 

Scores from to 3 indicate Inferior Ability 

" 4 " 10 " Low Average Ability 
"11 " 23 " Average Ability 
" 24 " 30 " High Average Ability 
" 31 " 40 " Superior Ability 

Mentimeter No. 19 
READING VOCABULARY 

Character of the Test. 

One of the most valuable measures of any individual or group 
of individuals is the extent of the vocabulary found necessary 
for communication and social activities. The Vocabulary test 
which is used in connection with the Stanford Revision of the 
Binet test, and which is quite similar to Mentimeter No. 14, 
has been shown to be unusually reliable as a measure of general 
intelligence. The Reading- Vocabulary test is probably not so 
widely usable as the Speaking- Vocabulary test, but it can be 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 209 

applied as a group test and is therefore probably destined to 
much more extensive usefulness than the individual test. 

The Reading-Vocabulary test cannot, of course, be given to 
individuals whose ability in reading is less than that ordinarily 
possessed by third-grade public school children. The candidate 
must not only be able to recognize the words that appear in the 
test and to know their meanings, but he must also be able to 
classify them as belonging to a particular group of objects. The 
method of the test requires the child to make a check mark under 
the family name which would include the particular word ap- 
pearing on the vocabulary list. The instructions will not be 
understood except by fairly intelligent persons, but for those 
who can understand the instructions and who do their best on 
the test, a very useful measure will be the result. 

Although this test would seem at first glance to be particularly 
well adapted to the selection of clerical workers, past experience 
has convinced the writers that it is also useful in the selection 
of organizers and directors of men as well as of organizers and 
directors of thought. The relationship between the score in this 
test and the general efficiency of an employee is unusually high. 

Teachers will find the Reading Vocabulary a splendid index 
of the advancement attained by new pupils coming into their 
rooms for the first time or of the pupils who have been with them 
for some time. It is useless to try to have pupils explain the 
meaning of magazine articles or of selections from their geog- 
raphies when they do not even understand the words used in 
these discussions. It would be very much worth while for a 
teacher, when she has employed this test, to compare the diffi- 
culty of the words which cause the majority of her class to stum- 
ble and fail with the difficulty of the words used in the ordinary 
text-books of the school. 

In any social group the classification of the forty words in 
this list would be found rather interesting particularly when the 
errors made by different members of the group were read aloud 
for the amusement of the entire group. It should not be sug- 



210 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

gested, when the test is to be used in this way, that there is any 
distinct relationship between achievement in the test and 
achievement in life, else some of the group will be very much 
disappointed in their scores. 

Every effort should be made to have such a group feel that 
this was simply a new type of puzzle. The results obtained 
under such conditions should not be compared with the results 
obtained under the standard conditions outlined below. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

The candidates to be examined should be comfortably seated 
and provided with well-sharpened pencils. The examiner 
should then announce that the booklets which he would dis- 
tribute were not to be opened until instructions to that effect 
were issued. Booklets should be distributed unopened, one to 
each individual. Further directions should be issued as soon 
as each candidate is supplied with the booklet, authorizing each 
individual to write his name, his age, and such other informa- 
tion as is desirable on the title page of the booklet. When these 
preliminaries have been finished the examiner should say : 

"When I ask you to open your booklet, you will find on the 
inside a list of forty different words. The test is to determine 
how many of these words you can read and identify. At the 
top of the page you will find the words, Animal, Body, Bird, 
Colour, Clothes, Fish, Time, Tool, and War. Each of the 
forty words to be identified is connected with or is a kind of 
Animal, Body, Bird, Colour, or other kind of thing mentioned 
at the top of the page. The page is ruled both ways. You are 
to look at each word in the column on the left and to make a 
check mark at the right of it, under the general word showing 
whether the word you are marking is an Animal, a Body, a 
Bird, or something else. You will be allowed exactly four 
minutes in which to check the words. Mark as many of the 
words as you possibly can but be sure to check them correctly. 
Ready' Go!" 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 



211 



Indicate the meaning of each of the forty words in 
the column on the left by making a mark (j/) under 
the proper word. 



CONNECTED WITH, OR A KIND OF 





ANIMAL 


BODX 


BIHD 


COLOUR 


CLOTHES 


i'lSH 


TIME 


TOOL 


WAS 
























} 






















f. 












l_ 










S 






















4 






















a 






















f> 


calf.. .. 




















7 






















R 






















G 






















10 






















11 






















^9. 






















is 




















1 


14 






















1 ', 






















Ifi 




i -.• 


















IT 














, ' 








IS 






















19 






















?0 






















<M 






















991 






















<j>3 






















M 








































1/ 




vff 






















97 






















?S 






















9,9 






















SO 






















81 






















S9I 






















ss 






















R4 






















35 






















Sfi 






















".7 






















SB 






















Bfl 






















40 

























212 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

At the end of exactly four minutes the examiner should call 
"Stop! Time up! Close your papers and hand them to me." 
All papers should be collected at once. 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The total score in this test is the number of words correctly 
checked. The work of checking the accuracy of marks made 
by the candidates is very much simplified by the stencil which 
accompanies each package of examination booklets. This 
stencil indicates exactly where a check should be made in each 
case. 

The total number of words correctly checked should be en- 
tered in the lower right-hand corner of the title page of the 
examination booklet. 

8 indicate Inferior Ability 
14 Low Average Ability 

24 Average Ability 

29 " High Average Ability 
40 " Superior Ability 

Mentimeter No. 20 
READING: DIRECTIONS 

Character of the Test. 

In the United States Army an officer frequently calls one of 
his orderlies to his desk and issues orders somewhat as follows : 
"Present my compliments to Lieutenant Smith and ask him 
to report at my office to-morrow afternoon at 3.15 for his orders 
regarding the disposition of garbage from the kitchen of Company 
E. Tell Corporal Jones in Barracks 17 to take a detail of four 
men and report at 5.00 o'clock this evening to Sergeant Katz 
at the Second Battalion Officers' Mess. Deliver this package 
to the Adjutant of the Base Hospital and ask him to let me 



'I 



Scores from 


Oto 


a a 


9 " 


a a 


15 " 


a a 


25 " 


(C a 


30 " 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 213 

know at once what should be done with the S. C. D. papers 
brought to me this morning by Lieutenant Johnson." The 
orderly must be able to carry out these orders without their 
repetition or explanation. He should reply, "Yes, sir," by way 
of making it clear that he has understood and will obey the 
directions, but should say nothing more. 

The first test in the Alpha series used in the Army was in- 
tended to measure how complicated a series of directions could 
be grasped by the soldier and executed without errors. The 
Mentimeter test differs from its military counterpart in that 
the directions are to be printed rather than spoken, and in that 
the increasing difficulty arises from the increasing complexity 
and obscurity of the words employed rather than from the 
length of the directions to be held in mind. Whether these 
changes will increase or decrease the value of the test cannot 
be stated in advance of actual trials. 



Directions for Giving the Test. 

As soon as the candidates have been provided with pencils, 
writing surfaces, and comfortable seats, the examiner should 
distribute the examination leaflets with the instruction that the 
blanks at the top of the title page be filled out at once and that 
no one should turn the leaflet until the direction to do so be 
given. 

The test should be introduced by the request from the ex- 
aminer that everyone look at the directions on the title page 
while they are being read aloud, "When you are told to turn 
your leaflet and go to work, you will find on the other side very 
full directions as to what you are to do. This is a test to find 
out how well you can understand directions, so read them care- 
fully and do exactly what they tell you to do. Ready ! Turn 
your leaflets and go to work." 

Exactly three minutes should be allowed for this work. At 
the end of three minutes the examiner should call "Stop! The 



214 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 



time is up! Turn over your leaflet and hand it to me." The 
test sheets should be collected at once. 

Do what it says. 

1. Write your name on this line 



2. Make a cross in the square. 



3. Make a cross in the circle and a dot in the square. 



□ o 



4. Make a figure 1 under the letter M and a figure 2 under 

the letter W. 

ANWVHMZUY 

Do what it says. 

5. If Decoration Day comes in the winter, write the word 

"No." If not, write the word "Yes." 

6. Cross out the shortest word in this sentence and draw two 

lines around the ninth word. 

7. Look at the three blanks printed below. On the first 

blank write the number of days in a week, on the second 
the number of months in a year, and on the third the 
number of years in a century. 



8. Write in the square on the left the right answer to the ques- 
tion: "How many dimes make a dollar? " In the second 
square make a small circle, and in the third triangle 
write the letter "C." 



A □ A □ A 



9. If a peck is a greater magnitude than a bushel, cross out 
the word "pint" unless a pint holds a smaller quantity 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 215 

than a quart, in which case draw a line under the first 

word after bushel. 

QUART BUSHEL FECK PINT 

.10. If a centimeter is more than half as long as an inch, Q 

write in the square the number of inches in a yard. ^— ' 

If a meter is more than three feet, then write in [ 

the circle the number of meters in a kilometer. |_ J 

11. If the oscillations of a pendulum were not facilitated by any 

other force than gravity, what would be the effect upon 
their amplitude? Check the best reply: 
It would gradually be 

□ augmented. □ flagellated. 

□ diminished. □ swaged. 

Do what it says. 

12. If ontogeny invariably ingeminates phylogeny, circumscribe 

the word giving the location of the OURCQ; if not, 
underscore the word that locates the MANDIBLE. 
England Foot Utah Face Peru France Arm India 



Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score is the number of directions which were perfectly 
obeyed without error. A failure to do any part of the thing 
directed or the performance of extra things not asked should 
act to withhold credit for an element. The total number of 
credits should be entered in the lower right-hand corner of the 
title page of the test leaflet. 

Scores from to 2 indicate Inferior Ability 

3 " 5 " Low Average Ability 
6 " 8 " Average Ability 
9 " 10 " High Average Ability 
" 11 " 12 " Superior Ability 



216 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Mentimeter No. 21 
READING: INTERPRETATION 

Character of the Test. 

This test is a specially devised method of determining the 
ability of an individual to secure from the printed page the ideas 
which are expressed in sentences and paragraphs. It is prob- 
able that no single test of reading can be devised which would 
measure all phases of the subject equally well. This particular 
test attempts to measure the special ability to interpret the 
meanings of sentences and paragraphs, although it assumes 
that the words of which these larger units are composed are 
recognized and understood by the reader. 

The test is arranged with very simple sentences at the begin- 
ning followed by more and more difficult sentences until at the 
last there are statements the meaning of which very intellectual 
people might fail to grasp at first sight. The questions which 
are asked regarding the paragraphs likewise increase in difficulty 
so that the ultimate score obtained by the candidate indicates 
rather distinctly how difficult are the sentences or paragraphs 
he is able to understand and answer questions about. 

It is not probable that a great field of usefulness will be found 
for this test in industrial life, although it might very well be 
used in any establishment where the question of the degree of 
literacy in the employee was of any importance. Tests fash- 
ioned on this order would be tremendously valuable as a basis 
for classifying according to degree of literacy the immigrants 
entering this country. Some such objective measure as this 
is very much needed in the taking of the census. Where at 
present almost any man or woman who can barely write his or 
her name is entered on the census records as being able to read 
and write, the crude examination for literacy which was em- 
ployed by the psychologists in the U. S. Army illustrates con- 
clusively that about three times as many people are unable to 
make any practical use of reading and writing as the census 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 217 

figures would lead one to believe. It seems certain from the 
facts obtained in the Army that at least one half of the popula- 
tion of the United States would be unable to answer more than 
eight of the sixteen questions included in this Mentimeter. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

It is particularly desirable that the room in which the test is 
given should be well lighted and comfortable. Before distributing 
the tests the usual caution, "Do not open this booklet until 
you are told to do so," should be given. One test booklet should 
then be given to each candidate. As soon as all have received 
their blanks the examiner should give the directions for filling 
out the information blanks on the title page of the booklet. If 
very young children or very dull adults are being examined it 
will be necessary to give specific directions about these blanks. 
As soon as the blanks are filled the examiner should ask the 
group to read silently the directions as he reads them aloud. 

"When you are told to turn the page you will find on the 
inside three paragraphs of printed matter. You are to read 
these paragraphs very carefully and then, turning the page once 
more, you will find sixteen questions about the three paragraphs 
you have just read. You are to write the answers to the ques- 
tions on the blank lines provided for the purpose. You may 
turn back to the printed matter and look for the answers as 
often as you need to, but you will only have ten minutes in 
which to do your reading and the answering of the questions, 
so be sure to answer all the questions you can. The first ques- 
tions are easier than those which follow, so answer them in the 
order in which they come. 

"Remember that when I say 'Go' you are to begin reading 
and to read as fast as you can, then to answer as many questions 
as you can on the next page. Ready, Go." 

Exactly ten minutes after saying "Go" the examiner should 
call "Stop! The time is up! Close your papers and hand 
them to me." All papers should be collected at once. 



218 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

FIND THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS BY READING 
WHAT IT SAYS BELOW 

Boys like to run and play in the street. Girls like to stay in the house 
and play with their dolls. As the girls grow older some of them learn 
to cook and to help their mothers in the home, while others learn to 
work in shops, mills, and offices. Some boys learn as they grow up to 
work on the farms, while others obtain positions in stores, mines, and 
factories. Even before they grow to be men and women, people differ 
in the things they enjoy and in the things they are able to do. 

It is fortunate that people are so different, for the world has all sorts 
of work that must be done. Wheat, corn, and cattle must be raised to 
supply the world with food. Cotton and wool must be made into 
clothing to keep us warm, while wood and stone must be made into 
houses to protect us from the rain and the snow. The work of the 
world requires that some people be farmers, others manufacturers, 
others merchants, others doctors, and so on. If we were all exactly 
alike in our tastes and abilities, much of the world's work would have 
to be done by persons whose inclinations and capacities were in fields 
of endeavour entirely different from those in which they would be re- 
quired to labour. The fact that people are so different makes possible 
an adjustment whereby the ability and interest of the labourer may be 
in proportion to the difficulty of the undertaking to which he is assigned. 

Perhaps nothing makes a larger contribution to the happiness and 
contentment of the world than this adjustment of the individual to his 
vocation, and yet the problem of securing such an adjustment is com- 
plicated by an enormous number of practical difficulties. One of the 
most annoying elements in this problem of adjustment has been the 
impossibility of making expeditiously an effectual classification of 
candidates according to native capacity and endowment. Psycholo- 
gists and statisticians have, however, during the past decade evolved 
methods of intellectual measurement which demonstrate the feasibility 
and economic utility of the procedure and adumbrate to some extent 
the social satisfactions that will ensue when the science of personnel 
engineering has been consummated. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 219 

WRITE THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS 

1. Who like to play in the street? 

2. Where do little girls like to play? 

3. Who learn to help their mothers? 

4. Where do older boys find jobs? 

5. In what two ways are people said to differ early in life? . . 

6. What kinds of food are mentioned? 

7. For what purpose do people work with wool and cotton? 

8. What reason is given for building houses? 

9. WTiat is the topic of the first paragraph? 

10. Why are differences between people spoken of in the second 

paragraph as a wise provision of nature? 

11. Check the right answer to this question: What does the 

second paragraph suggest as the probable result upon the 
world's work if all people were just alike? 

□ It would not be □ Some of it would be 

done. improved. 

□ It would be well □ Much of it would be 

done. poorly done. 

12. What characteristic of a task needs to correspond to the 

ability of the worker? 

13. What is suggested in the third paragraph as the probable 

result of failing to place men in positions suited to their 
abilities? 

14. It is quite common to determine a man's ability by trying 

him out in the job. What objection to this plan does 
any word in the third paragraph suggest? 

15. What procedure is said to be a practical means of saving 

time and money in the selection of men for positions? 

16. What is stated as a probable cause for general gratification 

at some future time? 



220 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is the number of questions correctly 
answered. A stencil is provided with each set of test book- 
Jets by the aid of which it is fairly simple to mark an answer as 
right or wrong. An answer should be considered wrong if it 
does not prove in itself that the candidate had read the para- 
graph and obtained his information from it. Any answer which 
is true in general life but which is not suggested by the reading 
material on the previous page, should not be accepted - 

Scores from to 3 indicate Inferior Ability 

" 4 " 7 " Low Average Ability 
" 8 " 12 " Average Ability 
" 13 " 14 " High Average Ability 
" 15 "16 " Superior Ability 

Mentimeter No. 22 
DISARRANGED SENTENCES 

Character of the Test. 

Publishers and editors have for many years insisted upon 
having intelligent compositors and type-setters. The printer's 
pi is probably as comprehensive a test of intelligence as any 
in the Mentimeter series. In the Binet tests, one of the most 
interesting parts of the examination is where children are asked 
to take certain words and rearrange them to make a sentence. 
This is not exactly the same problem that the type-setter faces 
with pi, but it is related to it. A disarranged sentence test 
was used in the military examinations, but in order to make the 
scoring simple and to include elements of intellectual capacity 
other than ability to rearrange words, the soldiers were asked to 
check the resulting sentence as "true" or "false." Here again, 
without being able to read a single word of the sentences which 
had been disarranged, the soldiers would be able to make check 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 221 

marks In the correct place by mere chance In half the cases. 
The method of scoring used in the Army was calculated to 
overcome this difficulty, but even then the results were not as 
reliable as they should be in the case of the Mentimeter form 
presented below. 

This test contains twenty-five sentences in each one of which 
the words have been mixed up and disarranged so that a real 
amount of imagination is necessary in order to guess what the 
sentence was in the first place. The first sentence contains 
only three words and is very easily arranged, while the later 
sentences are quite complicated and difficult. In order to in- 
dicate what the true arrangement of the original sentence was, 
each candidate is asked to place a period at the end of the word 
which would be last if the sentence were properly arranged. 
The resulting score may be taken as a fairly reliable index of 
ability to "unscramble" words in sentences. 

This test is very closely related to several of the other tests 
which appear in the Mentimeter series in that it involves the 
ability to think about words and the things for which words 
stand and the relationships between these words and these 
things. The type of ability necessary for this test is the sort 
which makes for success in education and the learned professions, 
provided social and personal qualities are equal to the intellect- 
ual attainments. 

This test is also very entertaining as a parlour game and 
may be used without offense to any one, if no mention is made 
of the relationship of the results to mental ability. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

When the candidates have been seated and supplied with 
pencils, the examiner should distribute copies of the test book- 
lets with the direction that none be opened until the instruc- 
tion to do so is given. After having the identifying information 
called for on the blanks of the title page filled out by the can- 
didates, the examiner should ask that all candidates look care- 



222 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

fully at their papers and read silently the directions while he 
reads them aloud: "A sentence is a list of words which says 
something that we can understand. When you open the papers, 
you will find on the inside twenty-five sets of words which are 
not good sentences as they stand, but which would make good 
sentences and would sound sensible if they were changed around 
and put in a different order. Look at the samples given below: 

Sample A: KILL MICE CATS 

Sample B: HAS BOOK IT PICTURES THE IN 

" Sample A would make a good sentence if it were arranged in 
the order 'CATS KILL MICE' and therefore there should be 
a period after the word 'mice' to show the end of the sentence. 
In Sample B, we should have a good sentence if the words were 
changed around to read: 'THE BOOK HAS PICTURES IN 
IT.' The end of the sentence is ' it,' and therefore there should 
be in sample B a period after the word 'it.' 

"When you turn the page, begin with the first set of words 
and study out what the sentence would be, then put a period 
after the word which would come last. Work right down the 
page until time is called. You will have two minutes in which 
to put in the periods of as many sentences as possible. Ready ! 
Open your books ! Go to work." 

Exactly two minutes after saying the word, "work," the 
examiner should call " Stop ! Close your books ! Give them to 
me." The papers should be collected at once. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 223 

Put a period at the end of the word which would come 
last if the words on each line were arranged in a sentence. 

1. IS WHITESNOW 1 

2. THE IS BIRD.A ROBIN * 2 

3. WATER IN FISH SWIM 3 

4. WHITE IN LIVE HOUSES.PEOPLE . ... 4 

5. WITaTO ARE HEAR EARS OUR 5 

6. THE IN SETS WEST SUN THE 6 

7. GOOD FIGHT COUNTRY SOLDIERS THEIR FOR 7 

8. WINTER THE COLDEST THE ARE MONTHS. . 8 

9. IS A MILK AND FOOD HEALTHFUL GOOD . . 9 
10. FROM EARTH.DIAMONDS THF tiNED ARE '. 10 



11. FOOD VALUABLE POTATOES AS ARE A ... 11 

12. AND ON GROW ORANGES TREES APPLES . . 12 

13. FOUGHT FRANCE GERMANY AND AGAINST 

ENGLAND r 13 

14. ALWAYS DEEDS SHOULD BAD PUNISHED BE 14 

15. SEVERAL OCEAN THE TAKES DAYS CROSS 

TO IT .15 

16. FEW MAKING A IMPOSSIBLE AVOID IT TO IS 

(MISTAKES 16 

17. CAST NIGHTS, ON BE MANY NOT THE SEEN 

MOON"? 17 

18. CLOTHING. USEFUL ARE FOR AND MAKING 

WOOL SILK 18 

19. BY COMMONLY IS DEBATERS VERY METHOD 

IRONY A USED . -7-7-7- 19 

20. EXTREMELY POISONOUS] WARFARE , MANY 

THE OF ARE IN USED GASEST". .... 20 

(over) 



224 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Put a period at the end of the word which would come 
last if the words on each line were arranged in a sentence. 

21. UNFORTUNATE IT MANUAL CONSIDERED 

IS THAT SOMETIMES LABOUR DEGRADING . 21 

22. CERTAIN THE ARE OF AND CRIMES .NAMES 

BIGAMY LEGAL PERJURY ...... 22 

23. THE BETWEEN BY AND ARE DIFFERENCES 

STUDIED REASONING PSYCHOLOGISTS/ 
HABIT BEING 23 

24. MORE TRAITS DESIRABLE CHARACTER 

STEALING/TIMIDITY OF AND ARE MEEK- 
NESS THAN • . / 24 

25. FACT CAN OBSERVED, MAY KIND METHODS < 

TO APPLIED EVEJtY STATISTIC AL .THAT BE 
OF 25 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is the number of sentences in which the 
period has been correctly placed. If a mark appears to be 
accidental, it should not be held against the credit of the candi- 
date. The stencil provided with the test leaflets simplifies 
very greatly the marking of this test. 

The total number of points credit should be entered in the 
lower right-hand corner of the title page of the test leaflet. 
Scores of to 3 indicate Inferior Ability 
" " 4 " 7 " Low Average Ability 
" " 8 " 16 " Average Ability 
" " 17 " 20 " High Average Ability 
" " 21 " 25 " Superior Ability 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 225 

Mentevieter No. 23 
COMPLETION OF SENTENCES 

Character of the Test. 

This is one of the most satisfactory group tests available for 
persons with a reading knowledge of the English language. The 
test consists of a series of sentences in each of which certain 
words have been omitted. Dotted lines appear at those places 
where words are missing. The persons being examined are 
asked to write on the dotted lines the words which have been 
left out. The blanks left in the sentences are all of the same 
length in order not to suggest the word to be used. The Men- 
timeter form of the test contains 20 sentences, graduated in 
difficulty, from very simple sentences which the average 
second-grade public school pupil can complete easily, to very 
difficult sentences which the average college student will be 
unable to complete satisfactorily within the time limit. 

The ease with which one can understand what is to be done in 
this test makes it particularly useful with children in the ele- 
mentary schools, and with adults of little education, as a meas- 
ure of language ability and general intellectual capacity in the 
manipulation of ideas and words. Although it has been used 
by many teachers and supervisors as a test of reading ability, 
it should probably be classified rather as an intelligence test 
than as an educational measuring instrument. Teachers do 
not and should not give direct instruction in the art of writing 
missing words, for almost no situation will arise in practical life 
where this sort of skill would be necessary. 

It is very difficult to determine just what mental powers are 
tested by the sentence completion test. Quite certainly the 
result obtained is a complex effect. The person who is suc- 
cessful in this test must first of all be able to read and under- 
stand the words which are actually present in any sentence; he 
must have certain habits of associating other words not present 



226 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

with those which do appear; from all of the words which come to 
his mind as associates of the printed words, he must choose those 
which fit most aptly the thought expressed; and from those 
words which would fit into the thought of the sentence he must 
use good judgment in selecting and writing the one which makes 
the smoothest and best sentence. Lack of mental ability or of 
familiarity with the English language will result in a poor show- 
ing at almost any step of the process and in a low score in the 
test as a whole. 

This test will probably be found most useful in selecting those 
commercial and industrial workers who in the course of their 
work will be called upon to make extensive use of language and 
printed symbols, although it has been used successfully in many 
parts of the country in the selection of salesmen, shop foremen, 
firemen, policemen, and other non-clerical workers. The re- 
lationship between success in this test and general success in life 
is extraordinarily close. 

In the public schools this test is particularly valuable as a first 
means of identifying pupils of unusual ability. Any child who 
makes five or more points above the average for his grade should 
be further tested with the Number Series Completion (Menti- 
meter No. 9) and the Analogies tests (Mentimeter No. 24). If 
his scores in these tests are distinctly above the average, he should 
be sent to the psychologist for special examination, and if the 
psychologist's findings agree with the findings of these tests, 
as they usually will, then the child should be given special op- 
portunities for rapid progress and more varied activities in 
school. Similarly, if a pupil obtains a score which is five or 
more points below the average for his grade, he should be ex- 
amined with the Completion of Form Series test (Mentimeter 
No. 6) and the Pictorial Absurdities test (Mentimeter No. 2), and 
if his scores in these tests are also below the average, he should 
be referred to the psychologist for special examination and rec- 
ommendations as to type of instruction best suited to his 
mental abilities. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 227 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

When all candidates have been seated and provided with 
convenient writing materials, one copy of the examination book- 
let should be given to each candidate. A general announce- 
ment should be given either before distributing the booklets or 
while they are being distributed, to the effect that no one is 
to open the booklet or turn it over until directed to do so. The 
candidates may be instructed to fill out the blanks on the title 
page if they are intelligent enough to understand what is wanted 
on these blanks. If young children are being examined, the ex- 
aminer should state very clearly just what is to be done. For 
example: "Write your name on the dotted line after the word 
'Name.' Write your age at your last birthday on the dotted 
line which follows the words 'Age at Last Birthday'." Care 
should be taken that no child gets an unfair advantage by 
opening his book and beginning work before the following 
directions have been read aloud by the examiner while the chil- 
dren read them silently from their booklets. 

"When you open your booklets you will find on the inside 
twenty sentences, from' each of which one or more words have 
been left out. You are to guess what words were left out and 
to write them on the dotted lines which show where these words 
should be. Be very careful to write the best word you can think 
of on each blank. Write only one word on each of the blanks. 
Make each sentence sound just as sensible as you can. You 
will have ten minutes in which to write. Work rapidly and 
carefully . Ready ! Go ! ' ' 

Exactly ten minutes after saying, "Go!" the examiner should 
call "Stop! Time up! Give me your papers!" All papers 
should be collected at once. 



228 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Write only one word on each blank. 

1. The dog's name Jack. 

2. Little children go bed early. 

3. The boy two dollars to the Red Cross. 

4. The little likes play with ! ef dolls. 

5. Puppies kittens grow to be and cats. 

6. The best children the most friends. 

7. One should be rude to his 

8. The poor was hurt when he slipped and 

on the street. 

9. It amusing watch men chasing their 

hats on a day. 

10. Almost any man if he really tries. 

11. The elephant is a favourite with children be- 

cause of and shape. 

12. The who a club and ;> uni- 

form was a policeman. 

13 a hot day nothing thirst so well as 

a of water. 

14. AcCfaAfifcxtAs more than merely. /^ L . l "rv*M . a flag and cheer- 

ing when the soldiers. r^f'/V^f . . . . \?<*Y. .home 

15. Anything is not doing is 

hardly worth at all. 

16. One. ^rf. < i . . .not p-\ . .money to. . .Avtf*. . .worthy 

charity. 
17 learning a new operation it is sometimes 

not to all than to 

practise the .way of it. 

18. Those things. PU^A Otf. . .no fear. . £U^. . . 

sometimes. ^aoM . . .harmful. 
19 drink one'js is a 

pleasure. 
20. . . /h) one .... kv. . . . their presence . . . *<Q not, 

. % .<*r does U^T: . . ., ... .#-& a rule, 

f^^YT. . .one's guests. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 229 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is the number of sentences completed 
perfectly within the time limit. No credit should be given for 
any sentences in which the language is not smooth and mean- 
ingful, although errors in spelling should not be counted against 
the person tested. This test is intended to measure ability to 
complete sentences rather than ability to spell words. No 
credit should be allowed unless every blank in a sentence has 
been properly filled. One error in any one of the blanks will 
leave the sentence imperfectly done and therefore without 
credit. 

The stencil for scoring this test is less convenient than those 
furnished with the majority of the Mentimeter tests. The rea- 
son for this is the very great possibility of new variations ap- 
pearing, even after long experience in scoring the test. When 
more than one blank appears in a single sentence the question 
as to whether or not a certain word is proper for one of the later 
blanks depends entirely upon what choice was made in the first 
blank. It should be held in mind by those who score this test 
that the stencil does not give all of the possibilities, but only 
suggests the type of completion which should be considered 
correct. Anything that is as good as the completions appear- 
ing in the stencil should be given full credit, while anything 
which is not as perfect should be considered incorrect. 

The final score obtained by counting the number of sentences 
perfectly completed should be entered in the lower right-hand 
corner of the title page of the booklet. 

Scores from to 5 indicate Inferior Ability 

6 " 9 " Low Average Ability 
" 10 " 16 " Average Ability 
" 17 " 18 " High Average Ability 
" 19 " 20 " Superior Ability 



230 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Mentimeter No. 24 
ANALOGIES OR MIXED-RELATIONS TEST 

Character of the Test. 

The Analogies test lends itself easily to wholesale or group 
administration. It cannot be used with illiterate candidates 
but requires at least three years of educational background in 
order to give a satisfactory index of mental capacity. The test 
blank presents the tasks to be done in a manner so easily under- 
stood that little explanation needs to be given orally by the 
examiner. It is also simple in its method of scoring and yields 
a very reliable measure of an individual's clearness of thought 
about the relations of words and the things for which the words 
stand. 

Psychologists have used various forms of this test for many 
years and have found it unusually accurate and reliable. It is 
considered particularly valuable as a test of ability to adapt 
one's self quickly and accurately to new situations, which is un- 
doubtedly one of the most important elements in what is called 
"general intelligence." 

The method of the Analogies test is known as the "controlled- 
association method." Two words are presented having a very 
definite relation to each other. A third word is then presented, 
followed by a blank space upon which the candidate is to write 
a fourth word which will have the same relation to the third word 
as the second word has to the first. The relation between the 
first two or key words in each element of the test differs from 
the relation between the key words of the previous element, 
resulting in a constant change in the problem to be solved, which 
requires quick readjustments in the candidate's thought proc- 
esses. The candidate must be intellectually alert to discover 
the true relation between the key words, his mind must be well 
supplied by experience with words and ideas associated with the 
third word, and then he must use good judgment and discrimina- 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 231 

tion in the selection of that word which has the proper relation to 
the third word. A slip at any of these points will mean failure. 
The value of the present series as a test of intelligence is greatly 
increased by the fact that there is a progressive increase in the 
difficulty of the elements presented, so that the number of ele- 
ments correctly supplied has a very definite relation to the 
difficulty of the tasks the candidate can do. 

Because of its relation to intelligence, the Analogies test will 
be found very useful in the classification of candidates for clerical 
and administrative positions in industry. Any group of tests 
selected for classifying such employees should contain a list of 
graded analogies such as that here supplied. Unless a candi' 
date makes a record of at least fifteen correct responses out of a 
possible thirty in the three minutes' time allowed in the test, 
he should be studied very carefully before being entrusted with 
a task where ideas and symbols must be handled quickly. Such 
a man might be able to work with things and people, but he 
will probably be found slow in his grasp of abstract principles 
and ideas. 

In the schoolroom, the Analogies test may be used with some 
confidence in classifying pupils for instruction. If it is found 
that a pupil is far below his grade in ability in this test, and if he 
is also found below his grade in the Completion of Sentences and 
Number series, it may be assumed that the pupil will probably 
not succeed in the abstract work of the school. Such pupils 
should be sent to the clinical psychologist for special study, and 
a special type of training should be prescribed upon the basis 
of the psychologist's diagnosis. In the same manner, pupils 
unusually brilliant in the handling of abstractions may be 
located through the use of this and other tests of this 
nature. 

The Analogies test is also a very entertaining type of parlour 
amusement, especially when some of the absurd answers are 
read aloud for the amusement of the group. When it is so used, 
however, no suggestion should be made of the relation between 



232 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

ability in this lest and general intellectual quickness, lest some- 
one should take offence. If the test is given without the exact 
and formal directions, and if the spirit of fun is introduced by 
the examiner, certain clever persons are quite certain to write 
words which have very amusing associations with the words 
which serve to set the problems in the various lines. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

All candidates should be furnished with pencils and writing 
surfaces — either tables, chair-arms, or writing boards. One 
test booklet should be supplied to each candidate, the blank 
being presented unopened and with the title page up. The 
examiner should announce clearly as the papers are distributed 
that, "The booklets are not to be turned over or opened up until 
the signal is given to do so." Candidates should also be directed 
to sign their names, ages, group numbers, and locations on the 
blank spaces provided on the cover of the booklet for this in- 
formation. When each candidate has properly filled out the 
information blanks on the outside of the test booklet the exam- 
iner should speak as follows : 

"This test is to find out how carefully and how rapidly you 
can think about the relations of words and of the things for 
which these words stand. Now look at your papers and read 
silently the directions, while I read them aloud. 

"When you are told to open your booklets, you will find on the 
inside thirty lines of words — three words and a blank space be- 
ing printed on each line. In each of these lines, the first two 
words are related to each other in a certain way which you are 
to study out. You are then to write, in the blank space at the 
end, a fourth word which has the same relation to the third 
word as the second word has to the first. 

"Look, for example, at the first sample, in which the second 
word is the plural of the first. Boxes means more than one 
Box, so the fourth word should be Cats, meaning more than 
one Cat. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 233 

Write a fourth word which fits the third in the same 
way the second word fits the first. 

1st Sample: BOX . . Boxes . . CAT 

2nd Sample: DOWN .Up . . IN 

3rd Sample: EYES . . See . . EARS 

"In the second sample, the fourth word should be Out, be- 
cause Up is the opposite of Down, and Out is the opposite of In. 

"In the third sample, the fourth word should be Hear, for 
See tells what Eyes are used for, and Hear tells for what Ears are 
used. 

"You will have three minutes in which to write the fourth 
word in the thirty lines on the next pages. Work as rapidly 
as you can without making mistakes. Be sure to stop as soon 
as I call 'Time up.' Now turn your papers and begin." 

Allow exactly three minutes (180 seconds) after saying "Be- 
gin," and then say " Stop ! Time up ! Turn your papers over." 
All papers should be collected at once to avoid corrections 
with resulting unfairness. 



234 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 



Write a fourth word which fits the third in the sarru 
way the second word fits the first. 



FIRST 


SECOND 


THIRD 


FOURTH 


1. CAR . . 


Cars 


. DOG . . 


2. FRONT . 


Back 


. NEAR 




3. HAT . . 


Head 


. SHOE 




4. BOY . . 


Boy's 


. CAT . 




5. ICE . . 


Cold 


. FIRE 




6. BIRD 


Flies 


. FISH . 




7. MEN'S. . 


Man 


. HENS' 




8. BREAD . 


Eat 


. WATER 




9. ACTOR 


Theatei 


• . TEACHER . 


10. HE . . 


Him . 


. SHE 


11. PRIEST . 


Religioi 


i . ATTORNEY 


12. CAT . . 


Kitten 


. HORSE 


13. DO . . 


Did 


. BUY 


14. SCULPTOR 


Statue 


. PAINTER 


15. BOY . . 


Man . 


. LAMB 


16. TOP . . 


Bottom 


. CEILING 


17. WATER . 


Fish . 


. AIR 


18. TRAIN . 


Enginee 


r . AUTOMOBILE 


19. STAND . 


Stood . 


. BE 


20. CATTLE . 


Herd . 


. FISH . 




21. WORK 


Day 


. SLEEP 




22. THREW . 


Thrown 


. ROSE 




23. GOOSE. . 


Gander 


. DUCK 




24. BANTAM . 


Fowl . 


MERINO 




25. GIRL . . 


Girls' . 


. WOMAN . 




26. WRONG . 


Right . 


. STEAL . 




27. FOOT . . 


Feet . 


. AVIATRIX 


28. HOUSES . 


House 


. CRITERIA 


29. QUEEN . 


Queens' 


. JONES . 


30. PESSIMIST 


Optimis 


t . EXOTERI 


c 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 235 

Scoring tJie Test. 

The Analogies test is scored according to the number of lines 
in which the candidate has written the proper fourth word. 
With each package of test blanks a stencil is furnished by means 
of which any one may score the results very quickly. The sten- 
cil is to be placed along the page next to the written column of 
words, and where the written word on the page corresponds 
to the word or words printed on the stencil at that level the 
written word stands as correct. Where there is disagreementbe- 
tween the written word and the words printed at that level on 
the stencil, a diagonal line (/) should be drawn through the 
number at the end of the written word to indicate that an error 
has been made. Where no word has been written on the 
blank, the number at the end of the blank may be circled to 
indicate the omission. 

The final score should be written in the lower right-hand 
corner of the front cover of the test booklet. This final score is 
found by adding all the correct responses (the numbers not 
crossed out or circled). Since there are thirty lines, the maxi- 
mum score possible is 30. 

Scores from to 5 indicate Inferior Ability 

6 " 12 " Low Average Ability 
" 13 "23 " Average Ability 
" 24 "26 " High Average Ability 
" 27 "30 " Superior Ability 

About 30 per cent, of a group of college graduates should be 
expected to secure Superior ratings, about 50 per cent. High 
Average, and the remainder only Average ratings. 



236 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Mentimeter No. 25 
HANDWRITING 

Character of the Test. 

Many pseudo-scientists have claimed the ability to interpret 
character and intelligence, and the past and the future, by 
means of an individual's handwriting. The present test has no 
relation to such misguided efforts. This test is designed to 
measure accurately the speed at which one can write, and to 
indicate the general quality of the product produced at that 
speed. 

Large groups of individuals may be examined at the same 
time by this test, although it may be used as a test of an in- 
dividual if necessary. It is quite certain that an individual who 
works at such a task as that set by this test in the company of 
other people will succeed better than if he works at it alone. 
The results obtained when an individual is tested alone are not 
exactly comparable, therefore, to the results which would be 
attained if he were tested in a group. 

The general quality of one's handwriting has very little rela- 
tion to his general intellectual ability. Some of our most in- 
telligent men write a hand which is hardly legible, and the 
authors have seen some beautiful handwriting produced by 
feeble-minded children. It is, nevertheless, worth while for 
many employers to have in their records of the qualifications of 
employees an exact record of the speed and quality of each 
employee's handwriting. This record may never be of any use, 
but, on the other hand, it may at some time be of very great 
value unexpectedly. 

In the public schools, measurements of handwriting quality 
may be crudely done with the present Mentimeter or more 
accurately done with the scales of Thorndike, Ayres, or Starch. 
It seems probable that by the time children have attained the 
"Average" quality contained in the Mentimeter and are 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 237 

writing at "High Average" speed it would be worth while for 
the teacher to excuse them from further drill as long as they 
maintain that standard in their every-day work. It will 
hardly be found necessary in practical life outside the school to 
write a better quality than "Average" except in a very few 
specialized occupations. 



Directions for Giving the Test. 

Candidates should be supplied w T ith pen and ink and seated at 
a convenient table or desk. The test leaflet should then be 
passed out and explanations given of how to fill out the blanks 
on the title page. When all of the identifying information has 
been entered on the title page, the examiner should direct as 
follows: "This test is intended to discover how rapidly and 
how well you can write with pen and ink. Turn your papers 
over and notice at the top of the page the two printed lines: 



"Mary had a little lamb 
Its fleece was white as snow. 



"When you are told to begin you are to copy these two lines 
over and over again just as many times as you possibly can be- 
fore I call 'Stop.' Try to use your very best handwriting 
every time you copy. I shall allow you two minutes in which to 
write. As soon as I say 'Stop,' I want you to hold your pen up 
so that I can see you have obeyed the command. Remember 
that when I say 'Write,' you are to copy the two lines over and 
over again as rapidly and as well as you can. Ready, Write." 
Exactly two minutes (120 seconds) after saying "Write" the 
examiner should call "Stop! Hold up your pens! Now lay 
them down on the table. Blot your paper and hand it to 
me." All papers should be collected at once to avoid unfair 
work. 



238 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

Each handwriting leaflet is to receive two scores, one foi 
quality of handwriting and one for speed. The score in speec 
should be obtained by counting the number of letters written 
and dividing the result by two, this will be simplified somewhat 
by remembering that the sentence, "Mary had a little lamb" 
contains 18 letters and that the sentence, "Its fleece was 
white as snow" contains 23 letters, which makes 41 letters for 
each time the two sentences are repeated. The score in speed 
thus obtained by taking half of the total number of letters 
written should be entered on the proper blank at the lower right- 
hand corner of the title page. 

Speed score from to 30 indicates Inferior Ability 

" 31 " 50 " Low Average Ability 
" 51 " 75 " Average Ability 
" 76 " 90 " High Average Ability 
" 91 and upward indicates Superior Ability 

The score in quality of handwriting is to be determined by 
comparing the candidate's handwriting with samples on the 
Mentimeter for Handwriting Quality:* a grade of "A," in- 
dicating superior quality, should be assigned if the candidate's 
handwriting is as smooth, -beautiful and legible as the sample 
marked "A," or if the quality more nearly approaches the 
quality of sample "A" than the quality of sample "B." The 
sample should be given a rating as quality "C" if its general 
beauty and quality be nearer to the printed sample "C " than to 
printed samples "B" or "D." Give to any sample that 
grade which indicates the printed quality that most 
nearly equals it in beauty, legibility, and general merit. 

In making a record of any candidate's performance in the 
handwriting test both quality and speed should be recorded. 



*The samples in the Mentimeter are selected from the Thorndike list and have the following 
values on the Thorndike Scale E, "Interior" equals 8.0; D, "Low Average" equals 10.5; C, 
"Average" equals 12.4; B, "High Average" equals 13.4; A, "Superior" equals 16. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 239 

Msntimeter for Handwriting Quality 



E 



D 



"ttSuv t/U> Ccwz&AJh {LtoAjJL ^J^yi^u 
















"C-71" would mean |that in the Mentimeter test this in- 
dividual had written quality "C" at a speed of 71 letters per 
minute. The speed and quality together are necessary in order 
to know the entire truth about one's handwriting, for many 
people produce a beautiful handwriting by taking great pains 
and wasting much time. 



MO MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Mentimeter No. 26 
ENGLISH COMPOSITION 

Cliaracter of the Test. 

Only persons who have had the benefit of a fairly complete 
elementary school education will succeed very emphatically in 
this test of ability to write a composition in the English language. 
The test may be given to large numbers of people at the same 
time just as readily as to a single individual. The result of the 
test is, however, a very good index of the general intellectual 
capacity of the individual, unless he is handicapped by lack of 
familiarity with the language. 

The most common use which most of us have for ability at 
composing in English is in writing letters to our friends or to 
those with whom our business brings us into contact. For this 
reason, the test consists in the statement of a condition under 
which any one of us might find ourselves and in asking the 
candidates to write an appropriate letter. The result is graded 
into one of five groups, according to its general quality. 

The problem presented to the candidate is fairly complex. 
First of all, he must be able to understand the situation described 
by the examiner and to appreciate what type of letter would be 
most appropriate under these circumstances. He must also be 
able to write the words which would express his feelings in the de- 
scribed situation, and in order to make his feelings clearly under- 
stood he should be able to punctuate and organize his sentences 
effectively. The result is a useful index of the general efficiency 
and maturity of any candidate who has been taught to write in 
English. 

In industrial life there are many types of positions for which 
persons whose ability to compose written English need not 
be better than "Inferior," although there are other positions 
which would require "High Average" quality of English com- 
position. The advantage of the following Mentimeter lies in 
the possibility it gives of identifying more exactly just what 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 241 

quality is meant when one speaks of "High Average" composing 
ability. 

In the public schools the Mentimeter will serve as a crude 
basis for classifying the general quality of the compositions 
written, but for highly scientific work it would be desirable to 
secure some form of the "Hillegas Scale" which is much more 
exact and well standardized. A very entertaining evening could 
be enjoyed by giving this test to a group of people gathered to- 
gether for social purposes, especially with a group which had 
tired of the ordinary means of entertainment. Reading the 
products written should in such a case be entrusted to some one 
or two individuals of good reading ability and wise judgment. 
Frequently the results would contain very amusing paragraphs. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

Each candidate should be comfortably seated and provided 
with writing material before any instructions are given. It 
will usually be well to furnish paper on which there are lines, 
as many people find the lack of ruling a distinct hindrance to the 
flow of their thoughts. When everyone is ready, the examiner 
should direct that each individual write his or her name, age, 
address, and any other information which seems desirable. The 
following directions should then be given : 

"This test is planned to discover how well you can use the 
English language in expressing your thoughts and feelings. 
Imagine yourself employed in a large business house in the city. 
While you are waiting to find out whether or not you are going 
to be one of those fortunate people who will be granted a vaca- 
tion, imagine that you receive a letter from a friend in the 
country asking you to spend your vacation on the farm. Since 
you do not know that you will have a vacation, it is impossible 
for you to accept the invitation at once, but it is necessary for 
you to acknowledge the fact that you have received the invita- 
tion. Write a letter to this friend in the country saying that the 
invitation has been received and that you appreciate it. You 



242 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

need not make the letter long, but write it just as well as you 
can." At least twenty minutes should be allowed for the writing 
of this letter. At the end of twenty minutes all papers should be 
collected, whether the letters are complete or not — enough will 
have been written to demonstrate the quality of letter each can 
write. 



MENTIMETER FOR QUALITY OF ENGLISH COMPOSITIONS 

Quality: Superior, A. 

My Dear Jean: — 

Your letter made me peculiarly happy this morning. The 
joys of last Summer so wrapt themselves about me that, instead 
of hurrying down Broadway to business, I was sitting on the 
veranda with you and little Bobby at sunset watching the Hud- 
son creep slowly in and out among the hills. One by one the 
little villages dropt out of sight as the fog came down from the 
Catskills, crept across the river, up through the woods and finally 
nestled among the neighbour's fir trees. Black crows cawed as 
they flew lazily over the house, and the little birds came up 
close to the edge of the woods to sleep in the barberry bushes. 
Bobby said they came up close so we would hear if anything got 
them. The little dear! Tell him I have saved a number of 
stories for him — two new ones about light-houses. 

I am rather doubtful as to whether I will be granted a vaca- 
tion this year. Business conditions are so far from normal, and 
we are very short of help. However, I may be lucky, and if I am 
nothing would make me so happy as to spend every day of it 
with you and little Bobby. I expect to know definitely by the 
end of next week concerning my vacation and shall write to you 
immediately. 

I thank you more than I can say, Jean. Your invitation has 
made me very happy. 

Sincerely, 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 243 

Quality: High Average, B. 

My Dear Mr. Smith: 

I appreciate your invitation expressing the desire to enter- 
tain me again at your farm during my Summer vacation. I 
should enjoy coming back this Summer, although I have occa- 
sionally been afraid that I was something of a hindrance to your 
work. It is such a change for me to get to the country that I 
shall certainly come if possible. 

I shall let you know just as soon as I find out whether or not I 
am to have a vacation this Summer. Thanking you for your 
kind invitation, I remain, 

Sincerely yours, 

Quality: Average, C. 

My Dear Friend: 

Your letter of June 10th has been received, and in reply I 
would say that I am not sure that I will get my vacation this 
summer. The boss hasn't said anything about vacations yet. 
I would like to come just as much as you would like to have me, 
but I can't promise until the old man lets us know. I'll write 
to you just as soon as I learn what to expect. Thanks for your 
invitation. 

Yours, 

Quality: Low Average, D. 

Dear Friend 

I got your letter alright, but it don't look like I was going to 
get any vacation this summer. We have all been tryin to hint 
to the boss about how tired we all was but he has to be knocked 
down to take a hint I guess. 

I sure do hope he lets me off. You know how I'd like to come 
and I want you to keep plenty of green truck growin in the 
gardin for me to eat. 

Yours truly 



244 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Quality: Inferior, E. 

Der Frend 

id lik to cum out to yer farm ef the flise ant tou bad but i got to 
wate the boss hant told us we can tak ar vakashins yit hous the 
frut & burys this yere il cum ef i can 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

Each composition should be compared with the five contained 
on the Mentimeter for English Composition quality. Give the 
written composition a mark as "Average," "Superior," or "Low 
Average" according to its quality. If a composition seems to be 
better than the one on the Mentimeter which is called "Aver- 
age" but poorer than the one called "High Average," try to de- 
cide which it is nearer in general quality. "Average, " therefore, 
will mean that a composition is nearer in its quality to the sample 
printed as "Average" than it is to the sample printed as "High 
Average," or to the sample printed as "Low Average." Any 
composition which is distinctly better than "Superior" should 
be rated as "Superior," and any composition which seems 
poorer than the one printed as "Inferior" should be rated as 
"Inferior." 

Mentimeter No. 27 
POETIC DISCRIMINATION TEST 

Character of the Test. 

Differences in the intellectual abilities of people manifest 
themselves in three fairly distinct ways: first, in ability to ac- 
complish results; second, in ability to think clearly about the 
situations in which they find themselves; and third, in the feel- 
ings which these situations arouse. Practically all of the tests 
now available for measuring educational achievements or intel- 
lectual ability are concerned primarily with the ability to do or to 
think about situations. This member of the Mentimeter family 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 245 

is concerned chiefly with the way in which one feels about differ- 
ent types and qualities of poetic expression. The test cannot 
be given to illiterate or foreign-language speaking persons. It 
is planned as a group test of persons who read and under- 
stand English readily. 

The test consists of six short stanzas selected from recognized 
English poets.* Two false versions of each stanza have been 
prepared and appear on the same page with the original. The 
group being examined are asked to read each version, trying 
to think how it would sound if read aloud, and to choose the one 
which they like "best" and the one which they consider the 
"poorest" poetry. The differences between the false versions 
and the true in the first set are smaller than the differences 
found in the succeeding ones. The score obtained by any in- 
dividual therefore depends upon how small a difference he can 
notice. 

Although this test is very interesting and entertaining its 
reliability is not determined and its usefulness is as yet question- 
able. It certainly would have no great value in industrial life 
and only small importance in public school work; its chief ser- 
vice will be entertainment in the home and at social gatherings. 
It is surprising how poor the judgment of many people is regard- 
ing the quality of poetic products. It would be interesting at 
social affairs at which this test is used to make a tabulation of 
just how many of those present have selected each different 
version. 



•The Best Version in each set is selected from the writings of recognized poets: 

Set I William Wordsworth in "She Dwelt Among." 

Set H Agnes Millay in "My Tavern." 

Set III Percy Bysshe Shelley in "To " 

Set TV Algernon Charles Swinburne in "fitude Realiste." 

Set V Edward Coote Pinkney in "Health." 

Set VI James Thompson in "Sunday Up the River." 

Mr. Earl Hudelson contributed the Middle and Poorest Versions for Set II. One of the present 
authors is responsible for the mutilated forms of the other selections. A much more scientific 
and accurate instrument for measuring poetic discrimination is being developed by Prof. Allan 
Abbott and one of the present authors. 



246 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

The examiner should distribute the examination booklets 
and writing materials with the following instruction : 

"Do not open this booklet until I tell you to do so. Notice 
on the title page a number of blanks for your name, your age, 
and the like. Fill out these blanks at once but do not look inside 
the booklet." 

As soon as the blanks on the title page have been filled the 
examiner should ask the candidates to read carefully the direc- 
tions while he reads them aloud. 

"When you open your book you will find six different sets 
of poetic stanzas. Each set appears in three different versions. 
You are to read each version carefully, trying to think how it 
would sound if read aloud, and then to record on the blank space 
provided for it which version you think is 'best,' which ver- 
sion you think is 'poorest' and which version you think is 
of 'middle' value. If you decide that version Y is best then 
write 'Y' after the word Best. If Z is the worst, then write 
'Z' after the word Poorest, and 'X' after the word Middle. 

"Think carefully about each set and choose the one which 
you really think is the best poetry. You will be allowed fifteen 
minutes in which to read and decide about the six sets. Begin 
with set No. 1 and take them in order. Ready! Open your 
papers and begin work." 

Exactly fifteen minutes after saying "Begin" the examiner 
should call, "Stop! The time is up. Let me have your papers." 
All papers should be taken up at once. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 



247 



SET I 

Read each version carefully and try to think how it 
would sound if it were read aloud. 

Which version is the poorest poetry, and which is the 
best poetry? 

Best 

Middle 

Poorest 



Version X 



Version Y 



Once there was a violet, 
Growing near a stone; 

It reminded me of a star 
All alone in the sky. 



A violet grew by a mossy stone, 
Where it was hard to see; 

It looked like a star, for it shone 
As pretty as could be. 



Version Z 



A violet by a mossy stone 
Half hidden from the eye! 

— Fair as a star, when only one 
Is shining in the sky. 



248 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

, ET „ 

Read each version carefully and try to think how it 
would sound if it were read aloud. 

Which version is the poorest poetry, and which is the 
best poetry? 

I'll keep a little tavern Best 

Below the high hill's crest, Middle 

Wherein all gray-eyed people Poorest 

May set them down and rest. 

Version X There shall be plates a-plenty, 

And mugs to melt the chill 
Of all the gray-eyed people 

Who happen up the hill. 
Ay, 'tis a curious fancy — 

But all the good I know 
Was taught me out of two gray eyes 

A long time ago. 

Version Y There shall be dishes a-plenty, 

And something to take off the chill 
Of as many gray-eyed people 

As are willing to climb the hill. 
'Tis truly an odd fancy, 

But everything good that I know 
I learned out of two gray eyes 

Many years ago. 

Version Z And when those gray-eyed people 

Have entered in the gate, 
We'll pass the cheering mug around, 

And also pass the plate. 
It may sound rather funny, 

But I was helped a lot 
By someone who had gray eyes 

When I was a little tot. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 249 



SET III 

Read each version carefully and try to think how it 
would sound if it were read aloud. 

Which version is the poorest poetry, and which is the 
best poetry? 

Best 

Middle 

Poorest 

Version X 

Music, when faint voices cease, 

Continues in the memory — 
Odours, when the violets fade, 

Linger where their smell was made. 

Version Y 

Music lives in the memory, 

Though the songster's voice is done. 
Sweet odours haunt the nose, 
Though the violets that waked them are gone. 

Version Z 

Music, when soft voices die, 

Vibrates in the memory — 
Odours, when sweet violets sicken, 

Live within the sense they quicken. 



250 MEASURE YOUR MIND 



SET IV 

Read each version carefully and try to think how it 
would sound if it were read aloud. 

Which version is the poorest poetry, and which is the 
best poetry? 

Best 

Middle 

Poorest 



Version X 



No rosebud yet has e'er been seen, 

Or flower in tropic lands, 
To equal these, more beauteous e'en — 

A baby's hands. 



Version Z 



Version Y 



No rosebuds yet by dawn impearled 
Match, even in loveliest lands, 

The sweetest flowers in all the world — 
A baby's hands. 



No flower that grows, 

In this or any other lands, 
Compares with these, of daintiest rose — 

A baby's hands. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 



251 



SET V 

Read each version carefully and try to think how it 
would sound if it were read aloud. 

Which version is the poorest poetry, and which is the 
best poetry? 

Best 

Middle 

Poorest 



Version X 



Version Y 



She speaks in tones of silver 

With the voice of morning birds, 

And every word that's spoken of her 
Echoes the music of her words. 



Her every tone is music's own, 
Like those of morning birds, 

And something more than melody 
Dwells ever in her words. 



Version Z 



Her tones are pure as silver chimes, 
Her notes of birdlike beauty; 

The words she speaks are at all times 
Replete with life and beauty. 



252 



MEASURE YOUR MIND 



SET VI 

Read each version carefully and try to think how it 
would sound if it were read aloud. 

Which version is the poorest poetry, and which is the 
best poetry? 

Best 

Middle...; 

Poorest 



Version 



Version Y 



A pipe and a book, 

By the side of the brook, 
With the world and her troubles forgot; 

Just to read and to smoke, 
Man forgets that he's broke, — 

And he finds, after all, that he's not. 



Give a man a pipe he can smoke, 
Give a man a book he can read; 

And his home is bright with a calm delight, 
Though the room be poor indeed. 



Version Z 



Let a man smoke, 

And let a man read; 
A pipe and a book in any old nook, 

Lend peace which is wealth indeed. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 253 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is determined in a somewhat more com- 
plicated manner than is the case of any other of the Mentimeter 
series. Two points are allowed each candidate for selecting 
as "Best" the original version in any set and one point of credit 
is allowed for selecting the poorest version as "Poorest." It 
will be observed that the maximum score on any set will be three 
* points if the candidate arranges the versions in the correct order, 
f two points for selecting the best and one point for selecting the 
; worst. This makes the total maximum score, for six sets, eigh- 
teen points. 

The correct order of merit for each set of selections has been 
determined by the judgment of approximately one hundred 
competent judges. It is as follows: 



SET 


I 


II 


III 


IV 


V 


VI 


Best 


Z 


X 


Z 


Y 


Y 


Y 


Middle 


Y 


Y 


X 


X 


Z 


Z 


Poorest 


X 


Z 


Y 


Z 


X 


X 



Write the final score obtained on the total of the six sets in 
the lower right-hand corner of the title page of the examination 
booklet. 

Scores to 3 indicate Very Inferior Ability 

4 " 7 " Inferior Ability 

8 " 11 " Average Ability 
" 12 " 14 " Superior Ability 
" 15 " 18 " Very Superior Ability 



254 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Mentimeter No. 28 
ARITHMETIC REASONING 

Character of the Test. 

Teachers in schools have for a long while based a large part 
of their judgment about any individual's intellectual ability 
almost exclusively upon the facility with which he solved arith- 
metic problems. Although the ability to solve arithmetic prob- 
lems has not been so frequently recognized by investigators as an 
index of intellectual ability as has ability in English, the teachers 
have found it much easier to estimate intellectual ability upon 
the basis of showing in arithmetic, because it is easier to judge 
of success in arithmetic than to judge of success in English 
or other fields. A child can either solve the problem or else he 
cannot. This objective nature of the subject of arithmetic has 
made it a very important subject for the teacher in deciding upon 
promotions. 

In practical life, arithmetic has been recognized as being of 
value because the training in arithmetic was supposed to enable 
a student to keep other people from cheating him in financial 
transactions. The writers have known employers, on a small 
scale, who used certain tricky arithmetic problems as the basis 
upon which to judge the intellectual ability of prospective em- 
ployees. Arithmetic problems have had and will continue 
to have a distinctive place in the measurement of intellectual 
capacity. It is probable that this place is well deserved. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

As soon as the candidates are seated, they should be supplied 
with pencils, and the examination leaflet should be distributed 
with the instruction that it is not to be turned over until special 
instructions are given to that effect. In order to keep the 
candidates busy, the examiner should ask them to fill out the 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS Z55 

blanks on the title page, giving name, age, etc. When this 
information has been obtained, the examiner should ask the 
candidates to read the directions silently while he reads them 
aloud. 

"On the other side of your papers you will find fourteen 
problems in arithmetic. The first problems are simple and easy 
and the last ones are more difficult. Begin with the first prob- 
lem and solve as many as you can in the four minutes after I 
say 'Go !' Write your answer at the right-hand side of the ques- 
tions on the dotted lines provided for the answers. You may 
figure on the left-hand side or on the back of the blank, if you 
wish. Solve as many problems as you can but be sure to get the 
answer right. Ready! Go!" 

Allowing exactly four minutes after saying the world "Go!" 
the examiner should call "Stop ! Turn your papers over. Give 
them to me." All papers should be collected immediately. 



Write the answers to these problems on the blanks 
Use the other side of the sheet to figure on 

ANSWERS 

1. How many are 5 men and 3 men? 

2. If you earn 2 dollars each day, how much do you 

earn in 6 days? 

3. If you have 10 nickels and lose 3 of them, how 

many would you] have after you found 2 of 
those that were lost? 

4. How many benches will be needed in order to seat 

20 people at a picnic, if 4 people sit on each 

bench? 

5. If James sold 3 Sunday papers for 5 cents each 

and then bought an apple for 3 cents and an 
orange for 4 cents, how much money had he 
kft? (over) 



256 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

C!. How much change should you get from a dollar 
bill after buying 39 cents' worth of potatoes, 12 
cents' worth of celery, and 26 cents' worth of 
butter? 

7. If the price of lemons is 2 for 5 cents, how many 

can you buy for 40 cents? 

8. If 29 merchants each bought 34 quarts of canned 

peas at a wholesale house which had previously 
sold 2,387 quarts of the same brand, what was 
the total number of quarts of this brand 
sold? 

9. If a wholesale merchant sold for $50 sugar which 

he had purchased for $45 and thereby gained 
1 cent per pound, how many pounds of sugar 
were there? 

10. If four and a half pounds of fancy onions cost 27 

cents, how much will eight and a half pounds 
cost? 

11. Half of the people in a certain city block were 

born of American parents, one eighth have 
American fathers and foreign-born mothers, 
one eighth have American mothers and 
foreign-born fathers, and both parents of the 
rest are foreign-born. Of the 1,200 people liv- 
ing in this block, how many have American 
fathers? 



ANSWERS 



12. A factory used 1,288 tons of coal in 23 days. 
During the first ten days after a new addition 
to the factory was opened, the average daily 
coal consumption was 78 tons. How many 
more tons were burned per day than pre- 
viously? 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 257 

ANSWERS 

13. A man spent for cigars and tobacco one sixteenth 

of his wages for one day. He spent five times 
as much for food, and half of what remained 
for repairs on his watch, which left him a dol- 
lar and a half. How much did he receive per 
day? 

14. At the middle of the month a merchant had 

$1,200 in the bank. He deposited $30 each 
day for six days and on Monday morning wrote 
checks for two thirds as much as his deposits 
for the week. Tuesday afternoon he de- 
posited a check one fourth as large as his bal- 
ance in the bank. What was his balance on 
Tuesday night? 



Directions for Scoring the Test 

The score in this test is the number of problems with abso- 
lutely correct answers. No credit should be given for partially 
correct answers. The total score of the test should be entered 
on the blank at the lower right-hand corner of the title page. 



Scores from 


0to3 


indicate Inferior Ability 


<< 


a 


4 "7 


it 


Low Average Ability 


« 


" 


8" 10 


ii 


Average Ability 


« 


of 


11 and 12 


a 


High Average Ability 


<( 


« 


13 and 14 


a 


Superior Ability 



2.58 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Mentimeter No. 29 
PRACTICAL JUDGMENT TEST 

Character of the Test. 

This test is applicable to all persons who can read English as 
readily as the average third-grade public school pupil. For 
persons of less ability to read but of good ability to understand 
English, the questions may be asked orally in an individual 
examination. The results obtained when the questions are 
asked orally should not be compared with the results obtained 
when the printed test booklets are employed in a group ex- 
amination. It is very strongly recommended that the test be 
used primarily as a group test, according to the instructions 
given here, in order that direct comparisons may be readily 
made between the results obtained in various places by different 
examiners. 

The present form of the test is a lengthening of the form used 
in the Army Alpha series. Twenty-four elements are con- 
tained in the Mentimeter form, while only sixteen elements 
were used in the Army form. Another advantage of the 
present form over the military edition is the more definite at- 
tempt at arrangement of the elements in the test according to 
their difficulty. Having the series graduated in difficulty, 
from easy to hard, is a distinct advantage, particularly with 
young or dull persons, who quickly stop trying unless their 
first efforts are successful. 

The use of questions, in the answering of which thoughtful 
judgment about every-day affairs would be required, has always 
been a favourite method of discovering the degree of intelligence 
possessed by a child or by an adult. Binet, the French psychol- 
ogist who developed the mental-age scale for testing feeble- 
minded subjects, included in his series a number of test questions 
of this type. The Stanford Revision of the Binet tests includes 
three such questions in the Eight- Year-Old series, and three 
other more difficult questions in the Ten- Year-Old list. 






THE MENTIMETER TESTS 259 

The chief modification of the method in adapting it for group 
testing was the supplying of three or four answers from which 
the subject should select the correct reply. This change makes 
the markings of the results quite simple, but it takes from the 
test itself some of its virtue as a measure of the richness of ideas 
possessed by the person tested. Instead of having to think out 
an appropriate answer, one needs only to read the answers 
printed and to use good judgment in selecting the one to be 
checked as "best." 

The Mentimeter form of the test, although superior in its 
length and arrangement to the military version, is nevertheless 
not yet ideal as an intelligence test. The simplest questions 
and answers that can be printed are too difficult for first- and 
second-grade school pupils to read and understand, while the 
most difficult questions and answers one could devise would not 
be general enough in their subject matter to be included in a 
"general intelligence" test. In other words, the range of 
ability that this test will measure is not so wide as that measured 
by some other Mentimeter tests, with the result that the speed 
of reading and of making judgments plays a larger part in 
determining the final score than it would in a perfect intelligence 
test. In spite of the large part played by speed, the test is a 
useful index of ability to learn in certain lines of work where rapid 
decisions on practical problems are necessary. 

It is probable that the Practical Judgment test will be found 
more useful in the measurement of intelligence among school 
children and clerical workers than in the classification of general 
employees, although the reader may find unexpected relation- 
ships between this test and certain routine occupations. Re- 
liance should be placed upon it only after it has demonstrated in 
actual trials that it has a close relationship to the special ability 
desired. 

Its use in social gatherings as a form of entertainment will be 
greatest where each person marks the papers of some other 
member of the group and reports the judgments found incorrect. 



260 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

Most persons are surprised, when they come to look over their 
booklets carefully, to find how many foolish errors have crept 
into their records while working at high speed. In order to 
increase the number of imperfect records and thereby add 
somewhat to the amusement of the group, the examiner may 
announce and use two minutes as the time limit, and urge 
everyone to try to work all of the 24 questions in that time. 
The general confusion will be increased if the examiner signals 
the end of the first minute and the end of a minute and a half. 
Under such conditions, of course, no serious use can be made of 
the results obtained. The score on the test is not to be used 
seriously except where the instructions and procedure are exactly 
as specified below. 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

Candidates should be comfortably seated at a table or 
supplied with a convenient writing board. A well-sharpened 
pencil (or pen with ink) should be in the hands of each can- 
didate before any blanks are passed out. The test booklets 
should then be distributed, the announcement being clearly 
made beforehand that "no one will be allowed to open the book- 
let or turn it over until the signal is given to do so." 

When each candidate has been supplied with a test booklet, 
title page up, the examiner should say: "Now, write your name 
on the blank following the word Name." After a pause 
long enough to allow this direction to be carried out, the ex- 
aminer should continue with a similar instruction for each 
of the other pieces of information required by the title page 
blanks. "Age at last birthday" should be insisted upon, if 
there is any question of reporting age in any other way. Group 
numbers and locations may be left blank where only small num- 
bers of persons are being tested and where there is no probability 
of getting the papers from one place mixed with those from some 
other place. The name of the school, factory, or city will 
usually be sufficient for the blank headed "Location." 



, 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 261 

After the necessary identifying information has been en- 
tered at the top of the title page, the examiner should ask the 
candidates to read silently the directions while he reads them 
aloud. He should then read slowly and distinctly: 

"The following pages contain 24 questions and 4 answers 
to each question. You are to vote for the best answer to 
each question by making a check mark (j/) in the square that 
stands before it. The questions are not hard, and you will 
be allowed 3 minutes to check the best answers, but be sure 
to work carefully and rapidly. Vote only for the one best 
answer to each question. Turn the page! Go!" 

At the end of exactly 3 minutes after saying "Go!" the 
examiner should call "Stop! Close your booklets and pass 
them to me." All papers should be collected at once in order 
to avoid unfairness and cheating. 



MARK (vO THE SQUARE IN FRONT OF THE BEST 
ANSWER TO EACH QUESTION 



1. What should one do when he is thirsty? 

□ Cry until someone gives him a drink. 

□ Eat a piece of salt pork. 
G3 Get a drink of water. 

□ Read a Coca Cola advertisement. 



2. Why do children like to eat candy? 

□ It makes them fat. 

□ It tastes good. 

□ It is good for them. 

□ It is a cheap food. 



262 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

3. What should one do if it is raining when he starts to work? 

□ Put on lighter clothing. 

□ Wear a raincoat. 

□ Call up the office. 

□ Stay at home all day. 

4. What is the thing to do when your house catches fire? 

□ Try to find out how it started. 

□ Ring the alarm and try to put out the fire. 

□ Run in the other direction. 

□ Watch it burn and calculate your insurance. 

5. What should one do if he accidently steps on someone else's 

toes? 

□ Call for help. 

□ Run for the doctor. 

□ Ask the person's pardon. 

□ Take his own part. 

6. Why do the leaves fall off the trees in the autumn? 

□ The frost has killed them. 

□ To protect the flowers from freezing. 

□ To enrich the ground. 

□ So that one can see farther. 

7. Why do people wear heavier clothing in January than in 

June? 

To protect them from the colder weather. 

□ Because it looks better with furs. 

□ Everybody else does it, especially in January. 

□ It makes a good impression on other people. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 263 

8. Where might one expect to find the largest number of expert 

swimmers? 

□ At the circus. 

(3 At the beach of a summer resort. 

□ At a Sunday School picnic. 

□ At a moving picture show. 

9. What should a person do when he is late getting started to 

work in the morning? 

□ Wait until the next day. 

□ Think up some excuse to make. 
j~] Try to make time by hurrying. 

□ Blame it on the street cars. 

10. Why do school houses usually have flag-poles? 

□ For the boys to exercise on. 

□ To show where to have a flag drill. 

To display the flag and inspire patriotism. 

□ To decorate the school yard. 

11. Why does water freeze in winter? 

□ It is warm in summer and we need ice. 

□ So the children can skate. 

Water always becomes solid at low temperatures. 

□ So it can be put in refrigerators. 

12. What is the best way to stop up a hole by which mice enter 

the kitchen? 

□ Stuff it with paper. 

□ Place a pile of rags in front of it. 

□ Put a corn cob in it. 

□ Nail a piece of tin over it. ( OV er) 



264 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

13. Why is milk a good thing to feed young children? 

□ It comes from cows that eat fresh grass. 

□ It is an easily digested and wholesome food. 

□ It is so pure and white to look at. 

□ It can be bought in pint or quart bottles. 

14. What kind of light is best for a reading table? 

□ A tallow candle. 

□ A mercury vapour lamp. 

□ A coal oil lantern. 

□ An incandescent electric bulb. 

15. What is the purpose of advertising food products? 

□ To make people hungry. 

□ To decorate street cars and magazines. 

□ To make people think about eating. 

□ To create a demand for special brands. 

16. W T hy is harness put on horses? 

□ So that their strength may be utilized. 

□ So that their beauty will be recognized. 

□ To match the colour of the carriage. 

□ To keep them warm. 

17. Why do people put food in refrigerators? 

□ To get it out of the way. 

The low temperature keeps it fresh. 
G To help ice men make a living. 

□ Because the law requires it. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 265 

18. Why are fire escapes more frequently put on tall buildings 
than on one-story buildings? 

□ A tall building is more likely to burn down. 

□ They would spoil the looks of a low building. 

□ Low buildings have fire extinguishers. 

□ One could jump from one-story buildings. 



19. What should one do with a baby when it cries? 

□ Discover and remove the cause of its crying. 

□ Spank it and put it to bed. 

□ Get it a drink of water and rock its cradle. 

□ Give it a bottle of milk or sing to it. 

20. Why is country air considered more healthful than city air? 

Q It has fewer impurities in it. 

□ Trees and grass grow in the country. 

□ More people die in the city. 

□ The wind is stronger in the country. 

»1. Why do railroads use electric engines in some cities? 

□ They run faster than steam engines. 

□ They look better than steam engines. 

□ To avoid making the city smoky. 

□ In order to make less noise. 

22. What is the main purpose of lightning rods? 

□ To decorate the roof of the house. 

□ To make the lightning strike somewhere else. 

□ To show which way the wind blows. 

□ To remove the electricity from the air. (OW ) 



266 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

23. What is the safest altitude and speed for flyingin an airplane? 

□ Low and slowly. 

□ Low and rapidly. 

□ High and rapidly. 

□ High and slowly. 

24. What is the chief purpose of newspaper headlines? 

□ To make the paper attractive. 

□ To show what actually happened. 

□ To help one decide where to read. 

□ To guide public opinion wisely. 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is the number of questions correctly 
answered. A stencil is furnished with each package of tests, 
which makes it possible to check up at a very rapid rate the ac- 
curacy of the votes cast, without ever reading a single word of 
the answers. The stencil is merely to be adjusted to the page, 
according to directions given on its face, and where the check 
mark made by the candidate corresponds to the printed mark 
on the stencil the question has been correctly answered, while 
if there is not agreement between stencil and candidate's check 
no credit is to be allowed on the question. Any fairly careful 
clerical worker can learn in two minutes to score such a test 
with a stencil as rapidly and accurately as a thoroughly trained 
psychologist could do it. 

The final score should be entered in the lower right-hand 
corner of the front or title page, where it will be easily associated 
with the name and other information about the candidate. 

Scores from to 3 indicate Inferior Ability 

4 " 8 " Low Average Ability 
9 " 14 " Average Ability 
" 15 " 19 " High Average Ability 
" 19 " 24 " Low Superior Ability 



i 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 267 

Mentimeter No. 30 
LOGICAL-CONCLUSIONS TEST 

Character of the Test. 

This test is to be given to large groups of individuals at the 
same time, although it may be given as a part of an individual 
examination. It will not be found worth while to give this test 
to individuals who have not had at least the equivalent of an 
elementary school education. The solution of the problems 
contained is so difficult that not more than half of the pupils of 
the sixth or seventh grade of the elementary school would be 
able to answer correctly more than five or six of the problems. 

The method of the test is to present a short hypothesis, intro- 
duced by the word "if" and followed by four different conclu- 
sions introduced by the word "then." The individual being 
examined should read carefully the first part of the statement 
and understand exactly what it means, and should then put a 
check mark before the conclusion which would logically follow 
the hypothesis. There are twelve of these problems, beginning 
with one which is quite simple and elementary, and progressing 
to more difficult and more complex statements of a similar na- 
ture. The explanations by which this test is introduced are 
illustrated by an example and are not difficult to understand. 
The difficulty of the test lies in keeping clearly in mind just what 
are the implications of the introductory statement or hypothesis. 

The present test is almost entirely new, both in its form and in 
its content. The nearest approach to this particular test was 
made by Dr. Agnes L. Rogers at the suggestion of Professor 
Thorndike, when she prepared a list of six problems of which 
the following is a good sample: "P is larger than Q, R is smaller 

than Q, therefore P is R." The blank is to be filled 

in. It will be observed that the present Mentimeter differs 
from Doctor Rogers's test in that names of familiar persons or 
objects are used in place of the capital letters and that four 



268 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

conclusions are stated from which the subject is to select the 
proper one, rather than leaving to the subject the formulation 
of his own conclusion. 

Because of its newness, it will be impossible to state here just 
what is measured by this test, but certainly the ability to read 
and understand the words is one factor, and the ability to think 
clearly about the logical implications of these words is another 
very important element making for success. The ability to see 
the relations between the words is probably as near to what may 
be called "logical ability" or "reasoning" as to any other popu- 
larly recognized "mental qualification." Although Doctor 
Rogers found a coefficient of correlation of .65 between her form 
of the logical reasoning test and a composite measure of mathe- 
matical ability, the present Mentimeter is so different that its 
true value can only be indicated by the comparisons which its 
users will be able to make between their results and the most 
accurate measures obtainable of special ability. 

This test will probably have very little usefulness in com- 
mercial or industrial fields, although it may be very helpful for 
a professional group such as lawyers, educators, etc., in the selec- 
tion of clerical or professional assistants. In the public schools, 
it is quite certain that it should not be used below the high school 
grades. Even in the high school, it is probable that only 
those with very great ability in handling abstract ideas and 
symbols of ideas will be able to make a high score. 

The subject matter of those statements which appear in the 
test is such as would not be found in ordinary life and has very 
little value in itself. As an entertainment feature, this test will 
not be successful except among a very specially selected group 
of people who believe themselves to be extraordinarily keen in- 
tellectually. It might be held in reserve as a special "stunt" 
for any persons who seem to think that they have demonstrated 
their "high-brow" qualities by making high scores in other tests. 
Shortening the time limit from five minutes to three minutes 
would further add to the consternation of such persons. 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 269 

Directions for Giving the Test. 

The examiner should distribute one test booklet to each can- 
didate, announcing at the beginning of the distribution that the 
booklets should not be opened or turned over until an order to that 
effect is given. Since the blanks on the front cover of the book- 
let will be self-explanatory to any person capable of taking the 
test, the examiner may direct that each candidate fill out the 
blanks on the title page of his booklet as soon as he receives it. 

When the information blanks have been filled satisfactorily 
the examiner should ask the candidates to read the directions 
silently while he reads them aloud. This reading should be at a 
very deliberate rate and in good, clear tones : 

"The following pages contain twelve sentences, each sentence 
being printed with four different endings. Only one of these 
endings can be true if the first part of the sentence is true. You 
are to decide which ending or conclusion is truest or agrees best 
with the first part, and to make a mark in the square standing in 
front of that best ending. Notice the example: 

"If roses cost more than violets, then violets 

□ cost more than roses 

□ cost as much as roses 

[3 do not cost as much as roses 

□ do not cost less than roses 

"The only one of the four endings which can be true, if the 
first part of the sentence is true, is the third, 'violets do not cost 
as much as roses,' so the square in front of this third conclusion 
should be check-marked. 

"You will have five minutes in which to read and mark the 
twelve sentences. Think carefully and get all of your marks 
correctly placed. Ready! Go!" 

At the end of five minutes exactly, call "Stop! Time up! 
Give me your papers." All papers should be collected at once. 



270 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

MARK (vO THE SQUARE IN FRONT OF THE 
TRUEST ENDING TO EACH SENTENCE 



1. If John is older than James, then John is 

□ younger than James 
Q] older than James 

□ not as old as James 

□ not older than James 



2. If Mary is younger than Will, then Will is 

□ younger than Mary 

□ not older than Mary 

□ not as old as Mary 
[j older than Mary 



3. If Dot is taller than Pet, then Pet is 

n as tall as Dot 
;] shorter than Dot 
[J not shorter than Dot 
□ taller than Dot 



4. If May is heavier than Jean, then Jean is 

□ not lighter than May 

□ as heavy as May 

□ not heavier than May 

□ heavier than May 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 271 

5. If Walter runs faster than William, and William runs 
faster than David, then David runs 

□ faster than Walter 

□ as fast as William 

□ as fast as Walter 

[3 slower than William 



6. If Edna is smarter than Bertha, and Bertha is not as smart 
as Mabel, then Mabel is 

□ not as smart as Edna 

□ not as smart as Bertha 

□ smarter than Edna 

□ smarter than Bertha 



7. If Mr. Jones is wealthier than Mr. Smith, and Mr. Smith is 
poorer than Mr. Brown, then Mr. Smith is 

□ not as poor as Mr. Jones 

□ richer than Mr. Jones 
{7j not as rich as Mr. Jones 

□ not poorer than Mr. Jones 



8. If Robert is noisier than Harold and Harold is as noisy as 
George, then George is 

fv] not noisier than Robert 

□ noisier than Robert 

□ noisier than Harold 

□ not as quiet as Robert (over) 



272 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

9. If Henry drives faster than Joseph, and Joseph drives no 
more slowly than Peter, and Peter drives more rapidly 
than Edgar, then Edgar drives 

□ as rapidly as Henry 

□ no more slowly than Joseph 

□ as swiftly as Peter 

[*j less rapidly than Henry 

10. If Monday was cooler than Wednesday, and Tuesday was 

cooler than Monday, and Thursday was hotter than 
Wednesday, then Monday was 

[ J not hotter than Tuesday 
[_} not cooler than Thursday 
(33 not warmer than Thursday 

□ cooler than Tuesday 

11. If Mrs. Brown is exactly as extravagant as Mrs. Smith, and 

Mrs. Smith is less extravagant than Mrs. Jones, then 
Mrs. Jones is 

□ more frugal than Mrs. Brown 

□ not as frugal as Mrs. Brown 

□ less extravagant than Mrs. Smith 

□ not more extravagant than Mrs. Smith 

12. If there were four parades in a month, and the first was 

larger than the fourth, and the third was smaller than the 
second, and the second was not smaller than the first, then 
the fourth was 

□ larger than the second 

□ equal to the second 

□ not smaller than the second 

□ not larger than the second 



THE MENTIMETER TESTS 273 

Directions for Scoring the Test. 

The score in this test is the number of sentences for which the 
correct conclusion is checked. The stencil furnished with the 
test booklets makes this process of counting the number correct 
so simple that a child can do it almost at a glance. The degree 
of intellectual capacity is indicated roughly by the score as 
follows. : 

Scores to 1 indicate Low Average or Inferior Ability 
" 2 " 5 " Average Ability 
" 6 " 8 " High Average Ability 
" 9 " 12 " Superior Ability 

Attention should be invited here again to the fact that this is a 
new test and that its reliability and implications will need to be 
carefully tested and measured before one can be sure what it 
measures or how accurate it is. 



CHAPTER XI 
TRADE TESTS OR TESTS OF SKILL 

While the determination of individual skill in the perform- 
ance of a given operation is not, strictly speaking, a test of 
intelligence or of mental capacity, it has been established that 
the most accurate and speedy method of discovering the precise 
degree of skill possessed by any artisan is closely analogous, to 
the scientific method of mental measurement. It has been 
found, moreover, that there is quite a close relation between an 
individual workman's skill at his trade and the degree of mental 
capacity disclosed by the Mentimeter or similar scientific tests ; 
the more intelligent the worker, the greater his skill if he has any 
natural aptitude for his trade. 

Many persons view with skepticism the idea that a workman's 
degree of skill at his trade can be determined by tests that re- 
quire but a few minutes. A month, they argue, is little enough 
for an expert foreman to classify justly the men under him, after 
observing their skill with his own eyes. When it is proposed that 
those who apply the tests for any trade need not themselves be 
skilled in it and may, in fact, know nothing about it, it is no 
wonder that they doubt the practicality of a method so foreign 
to previous conceptions and practice. 

Psychologists have long realized that the same methods by 
which mental qualities, abilities, and capacities are determined, 
analyzed, and measured, could be applied to the measurement of 
manual dexterity or the combination of manual dexterity, judg- 
ment, perception, adaptability, and patience that, taken together, 
make the skilled workman. For, as the reader who has perused 
this book thus far will long since have recognized, there is in- 

274 



TRADE TESTS OR TESTS OF SKILL 275 

eluded in the foregoing list of qualities a predominance of those 
which come quite definitely under the classification of mental 
abilities or capacities. As has been previously pointed out, it 
is impossible to separate mental and physical powers, and 
psychologists do not regard the mind as a separate entity, but 
merely as a convenient term for the definition of certain of the 
higher physical powers and their manifestations. And just as a 
certain type of nervous (physical) organism manifests itself in 
the development of abilities which we are accustomed to term 
"intellectual" or "mental," so the abilities which we call 
"physical" or "manual" are merely other manifestations of a 
different type of nervous organism. 

The principal distinction, scientifically, between a trade test 
and an intelligence test, is in the purpose to be served by the 
test. In the intelligence test the aim is to ascertain the sub- 
ject's general capacity; in the trade test, to discover his present 
ability or degree of skill in some special direction. Capacity, as 
has been previously pointed out, is only to be measured in terms 
of demonstrable ability, so that in the application of trade tests, 
although limited in their scope to a single class or kind of ability, 
there is also obtainable as a by-product a partial measure of the 
subject's mental capacity. 

While trade tests devised by psychologists had been demon- 
strated, in a number of industries, to be superior to any other 
method, both in picking the most skilful workers from among 
all applicants for positions, and in transferring workers from 
one department to another in large industries, it was in the class- 
ification and placement of the personnel of the Army during 
the war that the first really large-scale demonstration of the 
precision and effectiveness of scientifically devised trade tests 
was made. While one group of psychologists, working under 
the direction of the Surgeon-General's Office, was engaged in 
classifying the Army personnel by means of intelligence tests 
the Personnel Branch of the Operations Division of the General 
Staff, organized and officered by trained psychologists, was 



276 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

undertaking the task of determining the special technical and 
vocational ability of the millions of men drawn into the Army 
through the medium of the selective draft. 

This personnel organization had a multiplex duty to perform. 
First, it had to ascertain with precision what particular kinds 
of work had to be done in the preparation of an army for battle 
and in its transport and maintenance. This involved not only 
finding out just what needed to be done but translating this 
need into terms of trades and occupations. 

For example, the Army might report that it needed a number 
of men capable of making all sorts of repairs to electric genera- 
tors and motors. The Personnel Division proceeded to analyze 
the special qualifications required of electricians to enable them 
to meet this demand. These were listed, along with the quali- 
fications required for every other army occupation, in a thick 
book entitled Trade Specifications Index. There were 239 
pages in this book and in it were set forth in specific detail the 
exact qualifications needed by 565 different kinds of trade and 
technical experts. Chauffeurs, for instance, were classed as 
auto drivers, auto drivers with pigeon experience, motorcycle 
drivers with pigeon experience, plain motorcyclists, heavy auto- 
truck drivers, motor truck drivers, and plain chauffeurs. There 
were sixteen different classes of electricians, each of which re- 
quired a man with special experience and knowledge. Nine 
different kinds of chemists were used in the Army. 

It was a big job, in the first place, to determine exactly how 
men should be classified. After the classification had been de- 
cided upon, it then became necessary to devise simple, rapid, 
and accurate methods of placing every enlisted man in the 
Army in his proper classification, and then of so indexing three 
or four millions of men that any particular demand could be 
met. For example, one camp might ask for three farriers, nine 
sanitary engineers, two car carpenters, six boilermakers, and a 
pipe fitter. It was necessary that some system be perfected 
to permit of the filling of this order instantly by taking the men 



TRADE TESTS OR TESTS OF SKILL 277 

qualified to perform these duties out of the camps where they 
were undergoing military training. 

The whole system had as its basis a card for each soldier, on 
which, by a simple system of marginal numbers, punch holes, 
and coloured index tags the record of each man's precise ability 
was kept. Every man, as he was inducted into the service, 
was required first to make a preliminary, rough classification of 
himself — that is to say, he recorded himself as a tailor, a black- 
smith, or a milk wagon driver. But the Trade Specifications 
Index was as precise in its detail as a dictionary. It was, in 
fact, a collection of definitions of what was meant by occupation- 
al titles which had vague or various meanings in different parts 
of the country. Thus, a man might have classified himself as a 
tailor who, if called upon to make a uniform, would have been 
unable to do so. Tailoring had to be subdivided, from simple 
pressing and repairing up to expert fitting. One might be a 
good coat maker while another had never worked on anything 
but trousers. 

So there was devised a system of trade and occupational tests 
to which every man claiming skill at a trade was subjected, and 
which determined, as nearly as it is humanly possible to do, 
exactly the degree and kind of vocational skill possessed by every 
man in the Army. 

When the problem of formulating tests was analyzed, it was 
seen that certain requirements were fundamental. Trade tests 
to be absolutely satisfactory, 

1. Must differentiate between the various grades of skill; 

2. Must produce uniform results in various places and in the 
hands of individuals of widely different characteristics; 

3. Must consume the least amount of time and energy con- 
sistent with the best results. 

Now it must be recognized that trades useful in the Army are 
of many kinds and of widely differing requirements. Trade 
ability in any one of them, however, means about the same thing. 
It means that the workman is not simply the possessor of a 



278 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

single item of information, nor simply able to execute one par- 
ticular movement required by the trade, but that he has many 
items of information more or less systematized together with 
the ability to execute various movements not only singly but in 
combinations. 

While there are all degrees of trade ability among the members 
of any trade, it is convenient to classify them in a few main 
groups. Ordinarily the terms Novice, Apprentice, Journey- 
man, and Journeyman Expert (or Expert) are employed. The 
Novice is a man who has no trade ability whatever, or at least 
none that could not be paralleled by practically any intelligent 
man. The Apprentice has acquired some of the elements of 
the trade but is not sufficiently skilled to be entrusted with an 
important task. The Journeyman is qualified to perform al- 
most any work done by members of the trade. The Expert can 
perform quickly and with superior skill any work done by men 
in the trade. 

It is sometimes desirable that the Trade test should differ- 
entiate between the skill of different members of the same group, 
for instance, of the journeyman group. It is essential that it 
should differentiate between the journeyman and the apprentice 
and the apprentice and the novice. Trade tests devised to make 
this classification are of three kinds : oral, picture, and perform- 
ance. 

The oral tests are most generally used because they are of 
low cost and they may be applied to a large number of men in a 
comparatively short time and without much equipment. They 
are satisfactory in determining the presence or absence of trade 
ability and in many instances determine the degree of ability 
with such accuracy that no other tests are required. 

As a preliminary to the preparation of a trade test, there is 
required a thorough inquiry into the conditions of the trade. 
This inquiry has a threefold purpose: 

1. To determine the feasibility of a test in this field. Does 
the trade actually exist as a recognized trade? It was found, 



TRADE TESTS OR TESTS OF SKILL 279 

for example, that the trade of gunsmith was not a recognized 
trade, though there were gun repairers. 

2. To determine the elements which require and permit of 
testing. In other words, can men be graded in it according to 
degrees of skill? In some trades it was found that the trade 
required simply the performance of a single set of operations 
and there were no gradations among the members of the trade. 

3. To determine the kinds of tests that can be used. Some 
trades, such as truck driving and typewriting, are mainly mat- 
ters of skill, and for them performance tests are better than oral 
tests. Other trades, such as interior wiring and power-plant 
operation, are mainly matters of knowledge. For these trades 
oral and picture tests are best. 

After having discovered by inquiry that the trade is a recog- 
nized trade and can be tested, information is collected from all 
available sources. In the Army's preparation of trade tests 
experts in the trade, trade union officials, the literature of the 
trade, trade school authorities, employers, and the like were con- 
sulted. In this way it was discovered what are the elements of 
the trade and what constitutes proficiency in it. 

As a result of this collection of information it was possible to 
compile a number of questions, usually from forty to sixty, each 
of which called for an answer that showed knowledge of the trade. 
Experience in the formulation of such questions has shown 
that a good question meets the following requirements: 

1. It must be in the language of the trade. 

2. It must be a unit, complete in itself and requiring no 
further explanation. 

3. It must not be a chance question that could be answered 
by a good guess. The extreme example would be a question 
calling for the answer "yes" or "no." 

4. It must be as short as possible and must be capable of be- 
ing answered by a very short answer. 

5. It must not be ambiguous; the meaning must be unmis- 
takable. 



280 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

After tlie large number of questions originally formulated has 
been sifted down by application of the requirements stated above 
and others of less importance they are used in a preliminary 
sampling on a number of artisans engaged in the trade, usually 
from nine to twelve, whose answers indicate the merits of the 
different questions and their grades, from easy to difficult. In 
this sampling, tradesmen from different shops or plants are 
tried in order to guard against specialized methods or modes of 
expression confined to a single locality. At least two examiners 
worked on each set of questions at this stage, in the Army's 
work, to get the benefit of more than one point of view for 
revision. 

This preliminary sampling affords a means of checking on the 
following points: 

1. Is the test applicable to trade conditions? 

2. Does the test represent good trade practice? 

3. In what way can parts be profitably modified, supple- 
mented, or eliminated? 

4. Does the test represent the whole range of the trade, from 
the novice to the expert? 

5. Is it a representative sampling of the whole range of trade 
processes? 

In the light of the answers to these questions, the test is re- 
vised during this sampling process and is then ready to be for- 
mulated. This formulation consists of limiting the questions 
to a small enough number to be handled in a short space of time 
and to a wide enough range to represent every possible degree 
of trade skill. The questions are tabulated and are then ready 
to be used in the final sampling process. 

Final sampling is made by testing twenty men who are known 
to be typical representatives of each group (novice, apprentice, 
journeyman, expert). Among the novices tested are some 
highly intelligent and mature men of good general knowledge 
but no trade ability. Three testing stations were used in the 
Army's work: one in Cleveland, one in Newark, and one in 



TRADE TESTS OR TESTS OF SKILL 281 

Pittsburgh, in order to get the benefit of wide geographical 
distribution. Examinations were given to men whose record 
in the trade was already known and who were tested as nearly 
as possible in the same manner as men in the camps. 

The results of this final sampling are turned over to experts 
who make a careful study of the results and of the answers to 
each question. This enables them to determine the relative 
value of each individual question and the selection that makes 
a proper balance. 

If a trade test is good, a known expert, when tested, is able 
to answer all, or nearly all, the questions correctly; a journey- 
man is able to answer the majority; an apprentice a smaller 
part, and a novice practically none. This does not mean that 
each question should be answered correctly by all the experts, 
a majority of the journeymen, some apprentices but no novices. 
There are a few questions which show this general result. A 
graphic curve when plotted for such a question is almost a 
straight line. 

Other types of questions, however, are more common. Some 
show a distinct line of cleavage between the novice and the 
apprentice. Novices fail, but apprentices, journeymen, and ex- 
perts alike answer correctly. There are likewise questions that 
are answered correctly by nearly all journeymen and experts 
but only a few apprentices, and questions that only an expert 
can answer correctly. 

Each type of question has its value in a good test. The main 
requirement is that the tendency of the curve should be upward; 
a question which is answered correctly by more journeymen 
than experts or more apprentices than journeymen is unde- 
sirable and is at once discarded. A proper balance is made of 
the others. 

One task still remains; namely, that of calibrating the test. 
As each question is allowed four points, it becomes necessary to 
determine how many points should indicate an expert, how many 
a journeyman, etc. Obviously the way to do this is to note how 



282 MEASURE YOUR MIND 

many points were scored by the known experts and the known 
journeymen when they were tested. Ordinarily the expert 
scores higher than the journeyman and the journeyman higher 
than the apprentice. It frequently happens that a few journey- 
men score as high as the lowest of the experts and a few ap- 
prentices as high as the lowest of the journeymen. There are 
consequently certain overlappings between the classes. In 
calibrating, the object is to draw the dividing line between 
classes so that the overlapping shall be as small as possible. 

When these dividing lines, or critical scores as they are usually 
called, are established, the test is ready for editing, printing, and 
distribution to camps. 

Picture tests are made in practically the same way as oral 
tests. The peculiar characteristic of picture tests is that the 
questions making up the tests relate to illustrations of trade 
tools and appliances. 

The performance tests are now being used in many trades for 
those who make a satisfactory showing in the oral or picture 
tests. These performance tests are devised by conference 
with experts in the trade. They consist of some apparently 
simple tasks that can be performed quickly and with a small 
amount of apparatus but that nevertheless indicate clearly the 
degree of skill of the performer. As a result of experience the 
following have been drawn up as the requirements for a good 
performance test: 

1. It should require the smallest possible quantity of tools 
and materials and these should be capable of standardization; 

2. A journeyman should not require more than 45 minutes to 
perform it; 

3. It should be typical of the work required; 

4. The operations should be exact so that a correct standard 
form of product is always obtainable. Performance tests 
undergo much the same processes of sampling as do the oral 
and picture tests and they are calibrated in the same way. Th 
principle followed here, as elsewhere, is that the value of a tes 



TRADE TESTS OR TESTS OF SKILL 283 

lies not in its theoretical exactness but in its proved ability to 
pick out and classify correctly men of all degrees of skill within 
the trade. If the test does classify men in the groups in which 
they are known to belong, then it can be relied upon to classify 
correctly men about whom nothing is known in advance. 

The method which the Army pursued is adaptable for any 
private enterprise. The work done under the direction of the 
Army General Staff in analyzing the essentials of nearly seven 
hundred trades and subdivisions of trades and in preparing 
tests for a large proportion of these was pioneer work, the re- 
sults of which, in the shape of the tests themselves, while not 
issued for general distribution, are available as a time-saving 
guide to those who are interested in the building and application 
of trade tests. 



APPENDICES 



APPENDIX A 

Intelligence Ratings in the Army 

Reprinted from The Personnel Manual 

(Vol. II of The Personnel System of the United States Army) 

Purpose of the Intelligence Tests. — Under the direction of the Division of Psy- 
chology, Medical Department, and in accordance with provisions of General 
Order No. 74, mental tests are given all recruits during the two-weeks detention 
period. These tests provide an immediate and reasonably dependable classifica- 
tion of the men according to general intelligence. Their specific purposes are 
to aid: — 

(1) In the discovery of men whose superior intelligence suggests their con- 
sideration for advancement; 

(2) In the prompt selection and assignment to Development Battalions of 
men who are so inferior mentally that they are suited only for selected assign- 
ments; 

(3) In forming organizations of uniform mental strength where such uniform- 
ity is desired; 

(4) In forming organizations of superior mental strength where such superior- 
ity is demanded by the nature of the work to be performed; 

(5) In selecting suitable men for various army duties or for special training 
in colleges or technical schools; 

(6) In the early formation of training groups within a company in order that 
each man may receive instruction and drill according to his ability to profit 
thereby; 

(7) In the early recognition of slow-thinking minds which might otherwise be 
mistaken for stubborn or disobedient characters; 

(8) In eliminating from the army those men whose low-grade intelligence 
renders them either a burden or a menace to the service. 

Nature of the Tests. — The tests were prepared by a special committee of the 
American Psychological Association. Before being ordered into general use 
they were thoroughly tried out in four National Army Cantonments, and from 
time to time have undergone revision to increase their practical usefulness. 

287 



288 APPENDIX A 

Between May 1 and October 1, 1918, approximately one million three hun- 
dred thousand men were tested. 

Three systems of test are now in use: — 

(1) Alpha. This is a group test for men who read and write English. It 
requires only fifty minutes, and can be given to groups as large as 500. The 
test material is so arranged that each of its 212 questions may be answered with- 
out Avriting, merely by underlining, crossing out, or checking. The papers are 
later scored by means of stencils, so that nothing is left to the personal judgment 
of those who do the scoring. The mental rating which results is therefore wholly 
objective. 

(2) Beta. This is a group test for foreigners and illiterates. It may be given 
to groups of from 75 to 300 and requires approximately fifty minutes. Success 
in Beta does not depend upon knowledge of English, as the instructions are 
given entirely by pantomime and demonstration. Like Alpha, it measures 
general intelligence, but does so through the use of concrete or picture material 
instead of by the use of printed language. It is also scored by stencils and yields 
an objective rating. 

(3) Individual Tests. Three forms of individual tests are used: The Yerkes- 
Bridges Point. Scale, the Stanford-Binet Scale, and the Performance Scale. An 
individual test requires from fifteen to thirty minutes. The instructions for the 
Performance Scale are given by means of gestures and demonstration, and a high 
score may be earned in it by an intelligent recruit who does not know a word of 
English. 

All enlisted men are given either Alpha or Beta according to their degree of 
literacy. Those who fail in Alpha are given Beta, and those who fail to pass 
Test Beta are given an individual test. 

As a result of the tests, each man is rated as A, B, C+, C, C — , D, D — or E. 
The letter ratings are reported to the Interviewing Section of the Personnel 
Office, and are there copied on the Qualification Cards (in the square marked 
Intelligence). The Psychological Report, after the grades have been copied 
on the Qualification Cards, is forwarded from the Interviewing Section to the 
Mustering Section of the Personnel Office, where each soldier's letter rating 
is copied on the second page of his Service Record. A copy of the Psychological 
Report is also sent by the Psychological Examiner to the Company Command- 
er, who uses it in the organization of his company. In some camps the en- 
tering of Intelligence Grades on Service Records has been left to company 
commanders, but accuracy and uniformity is secured by having these grades 
entered in the Mustering Section of the Personnel Office when the Service Rec- 
ords are being started. 

The psychological staff in a camp is ordinarily able to test 2,000 men per day 
and to report the ratings to the Personnel Office within 24 hours. Personnel 
Adjutants will cooperate in arranging the schedule of psychological examinations 



APPENDIX A 289 

so as to secure from them maximum value (See Chapter IV for the proper 
coordination of the work of the Psychological Examiner with the work of other 
officers in a camp.) 

Explanation of letter ratings. — The rating a man earns furnishes a fairly reliable 
index of his ability to learn, to think quickly and accurately, to analyze a situation, 
to maintain a state of mental alertness, and to comprehend and follow instructions. 
The score is little influenced by schooling. Some of the highest records have 
been made by men who had never completed the eighth grade. The meaning 
of the letter ratings is as follows : 

A. Very Superior Intelligence. This grade is earned by only four or five 
soldiers out of a hundred. The "A" group is composed of men of marked intel- 
lectuality. "A" men are of high officer type when they are also endowed with 
leadership and other necessary qualities. 

B. Superior Intelligence. "B" intelligence is superior, but less exceptional 
than that represented by "A." The rating "B" is obtained by eight to ten 
soldiers out of a hundred. The group contains a good many men of the commis- 
sioned officer type and a large amount of non-commissioned officer material. 

C-f-. High Average Intelligence. This group includes about fifteen to eighteen 
per cent, of all soldiers and contains a large amount of non-commissioned officer 
material with occasionally a man whose leadership and power to command fit 
him for commissioned rank. 

C. Average Intelligence. Includes about twenty-five per cent, of soldiers. 
Excellent private type with a certain amount of fair non-commissioned officer 
material. 

C — . Low Average Intelligence. Includes about'twenty per cent. While below 
average in intelligence, "C — " men are usually good privates and satisfactory 
in work of routine nature. 

D. Inferior Intelligence. Includes about fifteen per cent, of soldiers. "D" 
men are likely to be fair soldiers, but are usually slow in learning and rarely go 
above the rank of private. They are short on initiative and so require more 
than the usual amount of supervision. Many of them are illiterate or foreign. 

D — and E. Very Inferior Intelligence. This group is divided into two 
classes (1) "D — " men, who are very inferior in intelligence but are considered 
fit for regular service; and (£) "E" men, those whose mental inferiority justifies 
their recommendation for Development Battalion, Special Service Organization, 
rejection, or discharge. The majority of "D — " and "E" men are below ten 
years in "mental age." 

The immense contrast between "A" and "D — " intelligence is shown by the 
fact that men of "A" intelligence have the ability to make a superior record in col- 
lege or university, while "D — " men are of such inferior mentality that they are 



290 



APPENDIX A 



rarely able to go beyond the third or fourth grade of the elementary school, how- 
ever long they attend. In fact, most "D — " and "E' men are below the "mental 
age" of ten years and at best are on the border-line of mental deficiency. Most 
of them are of the " moron " grade of feeble-mindedness. "B" intelligence is capa- 
ble of making an average record in college, "C+" intelligence cannot do so 
well, while mentality of the "C" grade is rarely equal to high school graduation. 

Evidence that the Tests Measure Military Value. — It has been thoroughly 
demonstrated that the intelligence ratings are very useful in indicating practical 
military value. The following investigations are typical : 

1. Commanding officers of ten different organizations representing various 
arms in a camp were asked to designate : 

(a) The most efficient men in the organization; 

(b) Men of average value; 

(c) Men so inferior that they were "barely able" to perform their duties. 
The officers of these organizations had been with their men from six to twelve 

months and knew them exceptionally well. The total number of men rated was 
965, about equally divided among "best," "average," and "poorest." After 
the officers' ratings had been made, the men were given the usual psychological 
test. Comparison of test results with officers' ratings showed: 

(a) That the average score of the "best" group was approximately twice as 

high as the average score of the "poorest" group. 

(b) That of men testing below "C — " 70 per cent, were classed as "poorest" 

and only 4.4 per cent, as "best." 

(c) That of men testing above "C-f-," 15 per cent, were classed as "poorest" 

and 55.5 per cent, as "best." 

(d) That the man who tests above "C+" is about fourteen times as likely to 

be classed "best" as the man who tests below "C — ." 
(c) That the per cent, classed as "best" in the various letter groups increased 
steadily from per cent, in "D — " to 57.7 per cent, in "A," while the per 
cent, classed as" poorest" decreased steadily from 80 per cent, in "D — " 
to 11.5 per cent, in "A." The following table shows the per cents, for 
each letter group : 



Total number . 
Classed with "best" . 
Classed with "poorest" 



D— 

29 
0.0% 
79.3% 



60 

6.7% 
65.0% 



C— 

121 

19.0% 
57.9% 



231 
26.0% 
31.2% 



C + 
229 

39.3% 

24.9% 



191 

53.4% 
16.7% 



104 

57.7% 
11.5% 



Considering that low military value may be caused by many things besides 
inferior intelligence, the above findings are very significant. 
2. In an infantry regiment of another camp were 765 men (Regulars) who had 



APPENDIX A 291 

been with their officers for several months. The company commanders were 
asked to rate these men as 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 according to "practical soldier value," 
" 1 " being highest, and " 5 " lowest. The men were then tested, with the follow- 
ing results: 

(a) Of 76 men who earned the grade A or B, none was rated "5" and only 9 

were rated "3" or "4." 

(b) Of 238 "D" and "D — " men, only one received the rating "1" and only 

7 received a rating of "2." 

(c) Psychological ratings and ratings by company commanders were identical 

in 49.5 per cent, of all cases. There was agreement within one step in 
88.4 per cent, of cases, and disagreement of more than two steps in only 
T 7 <y of 1 per cent, of cases. 

3. In another camp the company officers of a regiment were asked to designate 
the ten "best" and ten "poorest" privates in each company. The officers had 
been with their men long enough to know them thoroughly. Comparison of 
the officers' estimates with the results of intelligence tests brought out the follow- 
ing facts: 

(a) Of 156 men classed with the ten "best" in their respective companies, 

only 9 tested below C — . 

(b) Of 133 men classed with the "poorest" ten in their respective companies, 

only 4 tested above C+- 

(c) Men above C+ are 7.3 times as likely as men below C — to be classed with 

the ten "best." 

(d) Men below C — are 10.8 times as likely as men above C-|- to be classed 

with the ten "poorest." 

(e) An " A " man is 1 1 .7 times as likely as a man below C — to be rated "best " ; 

but a man below C — is 13.5 times as likely as an "A" to be rated 
"poorest." 

4. The same experiment was made in still another camp. Officers of 36 differ- 
ent companies picked the ten "best" and the ten "poorest" men in each com- 
pany. Of the " poorest," 62.22 per cent, tested below^C — and only 3.06 per cent, 
above C+. Of the "best," 38 per cent, tested above C-|- and only 9.72 per cent, 
below C — . According to this investigation, a man below C — is 6.4 times as 
likely to be "poorest" as to be "best." A man above C+ is 12.5 times as 
likely to be "best" as to be "poorest." A man rating A is 62 times as likely to 
be "best" as to be "poorest." A man rating D — is 29.3 times as likely to be 
"poorest" as to be "best." 

5. Where commissioned officers are selected on the basis of trying out and 
"survival of the fittest" it is ordinarily found that about 80 per cent, are of 
the A or B grade, and only about 5 per cent, below the C-+- grade. Of non- 
commissioned officers chosen by this method, about 75 per cent, are found to 



292 



APrENDIX A 



grade A, B, or C+, and only 5 per cent below C. Moreover, there is a gradual 
rise in average seore as we go from privates up through the ranks of privates 
first class, corporals, sergeants first class, O. T. S. candidates, and commis- 
sioned officers. This is seen in the following table: 







PEH CENT. 


EARNING 


EACH LETTER RATING 




Various Groups (Whites) . 


D— orE 


D 


C— 


C 


c+ 


B 


A 


AandB 


8,819ConiinissionedOfficers 


0.0 


0.01 


.25 


2.92 


13.8 


34.6 


48.4 


83. 


9,240 O. T. S. Candidates . 


0.0 


0.14 


.08 


6.16 


19.5 


36.4 


36.8 


73.2 


3,893 Sergeants . . . 


0.0 


1.05 


4.05 


14.2 


27.3 


32.5 


20.9 


53.4 


4,023 Corporals . . . 


0.0 


1.33 


7.33 


20.33 


31.3 


26 


13.7 


39.7 


81,114 Literate Privates . 


0.22 


10.24 


21.48 


28.79 


20.48 


12.38 


6.37 


18.75 


10,803 Illiterate Privates . 


7.8 


41.16 


29.11 


14.67 


4.43 


1.95 


.52 


2.47 



6. Experience shows that "D" candidates admitted to Officers' Training 
Schools almost never make good, and that the per cent, of elimination among the 
"C — " and "C" students is several times as high as among "A" students. 
For example, in one of the Fourth Officers' Training Schools 100 per cent, of the 
"D" men were eliminated as unsatisfactory, 55 per cent, of the "C — " men, 
14.8 per cent, of the "B" men, but only 2.7 per cent, of the "A" men. In an- 
other Fourth Officers' Training School 76.2 per cent, of the men rating below 
C were eliminated in the first six weeks, 51.5 per cent, of the "C" men, and 
none at all of the "A" or "B" men. These findings are typical. 

The psychological ratings are valuable not so much because they make a 
better classification than would come about in the course of time through natural 
selection, but chiefly because they greatly abbreviate this process by indicating 
immediately the groups in which suitable officer material will be found, and at 
the same time those men whose mental inferiority warrants their elimination 
from regular units in order to prevent the retardation of training. Speed counts 
in a war that costs fifty million dollars per day and requires the minimum period 
of training. 

Directions for the Use of Intelligence Ratings. — In using the intelligence ratings 
the following points should be borne in mind: 

1. The mental tests are not intended to replace other methods of judging a 
man's value to the service. It would be a mistake to assume that they tell us 
infallibly what kind of soldier a man will make. They merely help to do this 
by measuring one important element in a soldier's equipment, namely, intelli- 
gence. They do not measure loyalty, bravery, power to command, or the emo' 
tional traits that make a man "carry on." However, in the long run these 
qualities are far more likely to be found in men of superior intelligence than in 
men who are intellectually inferior. Intelligence is perhaps the most import- 
ant single factor in soldier efficiency apart from physical fitness. 



APPENDIX A 293 

2. Commissioned officer material is found chiefly in the A and B groups, al- 
though of course not all high-score men have the other qualifications necessary 
for officers. Men below C+ should not be accepted as students in Officers' 
Training Schools unless the score on the Officers' Rating Scale indicates excep- 
tional power of leadership and ability to command. 

3. Since more than one fourth of enlisted men rate as high as C-f- , there is 
rarely justification for going below this grade in closing non-commissioned 
officers. This is especially the case in view of the likelihood of promotion from 
non-commissioned rank. Even apart from considerations of promotion, it is 
desirable to avoid the appointment of mentally inferior men (below C) as non- 
commissioned officers. Several careful studies have shown that "C — " and 
"D" sergeants and corporals are extremely likely to be found unsatisfactory- 
The fact that a few make good does not justify the risk taken in their appoint- 
ment. 

4. Men below C+ are rarely equal to complicated paper work. 

5. In selecting men for tasks of special responsibility the preference should be 
given to those of highest intelligence rating who also have the other necessary 
qualifications. If they make good they should be kept on the work or promoted; 
if they fail they should be replaced by men next on the list. 

To aid in selecting men for occupational assignment, extensive data have been 
gathered on the range of intelligence scores found in various occupations. This 
material has been placed in the hands of the Personnel Officers for use in making 
assignments. It is suggested that those men who have an intelligence rating 
above the average in an occupation should be the first to be assigned to meet 
requirements in that occupation, and after that men with lower ratings should 
be considered. 

6. In making assignments from the Depot Brigade to permanent organiza- 
tions it is important to give each unit its proportion of superior, average, and 
inferior men. * If this matter is left to chance there will inevitably be "weak 
links" in the army chain. 

Exceptions to this rule should be made in favour of certain arms of the service 
which require more than the ordinary number of mentally superior men; e. g., 
Signal Corps, Machine Gun, Field Artillery and Engineers. These organiza- 
tions ordinarily have about twice the usual proportion of "A" and "B" men 
and very much less than the usual proportion of "D" and "D — " men. 

The first two columns in the following table illustrate the distribution of in- 
telligence grades typical of infantry regiments and also the extreme differences 
in the mental strength of organizations which are built up without regard to 



294 



APPENDIX A 



intelligence ratings. The last column to the right shows a balanced distribution 
of intellectual strength which might have been made to each of these two regi- 
ments. 







Actual Distribution 




Intelligence 


Interpretation 




Balanced 


Rating 


1st Regiment 


2d Regiment 


Distribution 


A 


Very Superior 


1.0% 


6.0% 


3.5% 


B 


Superior 


3.0 


12.0 


7.5 


c+ 


High Average 


7.0 


20.0 


13.5 


c 


Average 


15.0 


28.0 


21.5 


c— 


Low Average 


25.0 


19.0 


22.0 


D 


Inferior 


31.0 


13.0 


22.0 


D— 


Very Inferior 


18.0 


2.0 


10.0 



Unless intelligence is wisely distributed certain regiments and companies will 
take training much more slowly than others and thus delay the programme of the 
whole organization. 

7. " D " and "D — " men are rarely suited for tasks which require special skill, 
resourcefulness, or sustained alertness. It is also unsafe to expect "D," "D — " 
or "E" men to read or understand written directions. 



8. Only high-score men should be selected for tasks that require quick learning 
or rapid adjustments. 

9. It should not be supposed that men who receive the same mental rating 
are necessarily of equal military worth. A mans value to the service should not 
be judged by his intelligence alone. 

10. The intelligence rating is one of the most important aids to the Personnel 
Office in the rapid sorting of the masses of men in the Depot Brigade. In no 
previous war has so muck depended on the prompt and complete utilization of the 
mental ability of the individual soldier. It is expected, therefore, that the psy- 
chological ratings will be regularly used as an aid in the selection, assignment, 
and classification of men. 



APPENDIX B 

The Army "Alpha" and "Beta" Tests 
With Instructions and Method of Scoring 

Instructions for giving Alpha Test 1. (To be read aloud by Examiner.) 

Test 1, Form 8. 

1. "Attention! 'Attention' always means 'Pencils up.' Look at the circles 
at 1. When I say 'go,' but not before, make a figure 2 in the second circle and 
also a cross in the third circle. — Go!" (Allow not over 5 seconds.) 

2. "Attention! Look at 2, where the circles have numbers in them. When 
I say 'go' draw a line from Circle 1 to Circle 4 that will pass below Circle 2 and 
above Circle 3. — Go!" (Allow not over 5 seconds.) 

8. " Attention ! Look at the square and triangle at 3. When I say ' go ' make 
a figure 1 in the space which is in the square but not in the triangle, and also make 
a cross in the space which is in the triangle and in the square. — Go!" (Allow 
not over 10 seconds.) 

4. "Attention! Look at 4. When I say 'go' make a figure 2 in the space 
which is in the circle but not in the triangle or square, and also make a figure 3 
jn the space which is in the triangle and circle, but not in the square. — Go!" 
(Allow not over 10 seconds.) 

N. B. Examiner. — In reading 5, don't pause at the word "circle" as if ending 
a sentence. 

5. "Attention! Look at 5. If 'taps' sounds in the evening, then (when I say 
'go') put a cross in the first circle; if not, draw a line under the word No. — Go!" 
(Allow not over ten seconds.) 

6. "Attention! Look at 6. When I say 'go' put in the first circle the 
right answer to the question : ' How many months has a year? ' In the second 
circle do nothing, but in the fifth circle put any number that is wrong answer to 
the question that you just answered correctly — Go!" (Allow not over 10 
seconds.) 

295 



FORM 8 

Name ... 

Company 



GROUP EXAMINATION ALPHA 

„ Rank. 

Regiment. Arm. _ 



GROUP NO. 



In what country or state born? 

Occupation — 

Schooling: Grades, 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8: High or Prep. School, Year 1. 2. 3. 4: College, Year 1. 2. 3. 4. 



Age 

Division 

Years in U. S. ?..._.. _ Race _. 

Weekly Wages 



TEST 1 



i. ooooo 

2. ®© ©©©©©©© 



3. 

4. 

6. 

6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 

11. 
12. 







O O O *» N ° 

ooooo 

ABGDEFGHUKLMNOP 

OOO MILITARY GUN CAMP 
34-79-56-87-68-25-82-47-27-31-64-93-71-41-52-99 






7F 



/h>Q) £kQ) H^© 



123456 7 89 



Division d Psychology, Medical Department U. S. A. 
Authorised by the Surgeon General, Feb. a. I91tt> Bdition, May 20, 191S, uu.uui 



296 






APPENDIX B 297 

7. "Attention! Look at 7. When I say 'go' cross out the letter just after F 
and also draw a line under the second letter after I. — Go!" (Allow not over 10 
seconds.) 

8. "Attention! Look at 8. Notice the three circles and the three words. 
When I say 'go' make in the first circle the last letter of first word; in the second 
circle the middle letter of the second word, and in the third circle the first letter 
of the third word. — Go!" (Allow not over 10 seconds.) 

9. "Attention! Look at 9. When I say 'go' cross out each number that is 
more than 50 but less than 60. — Go!" (Allow not over 15 seconds.) 

10. "Attention! Look at 10. Notice that the drawing is divided into five 
parts. When I say 'go' put a 4 or a 5 in each of the two largest parts and any 
number between 6 and 9 in the part next in size to the smallest part. — Go!" 
(Allow not over 15 seconds.) 

11. "Attention! Look at 11. When I say 'go' draw a line through every 
odd number that is not in a square, and also through every odd number that is 
in a square with a letter. — Go!" (Allow not over 25 seconds.) 

12. "Attention! Look at 12. If 4 is more than 2, then (when I say 'go') 
cross out the number 3 unless 3 is more than 5, in which case draw a line under 
the number 4. — Go!" (Allow not over 10 seconds.) 

"During the rest of this examination don't turn any page forward or back- 
ward unless you are told to. Now turn over the page to Test 2." 

Instructions for Giving Alpha Test 2. 

Test 2. — Arithmetical Problems 

"Attention! Look at the directions at the top of the page while I read them. 
Get the answers to these examples as quickly as you can. Use the side of this 
page to figure on if you need to. I will say stop at the end of five minutes. 
You may not be able to finish all of them, but do as many as you can in the time 
allowed. The two samples are already answered correctly. — Ready — Go!" 

After 5 minutes, say "Stop! Turn over the page to Test 3." 

Instructions for Giving Alpha Test 3. 

Test 3. — Practical Judgment 

"Attention! Look at the directions at the top of the page while I read them. 
'This is a test of common sense. Below are sixteen questions. Three answers 



TEST 2 

Get the answers to these examples as quiokly as you can. 
Use the side of this page to figure on if you need to. 

f 1 How many are 5 men and 10 men? Answer ( 15 

SAMPLES < 2 If you walk 4 miles an hour for 3 hours, how far 

( do you walk? Answer ( U8 

1 How many are 60 guns and 5 guns? Answer ( 

2 If you save $9 a month for 3 months, how much will you 
save? Answer ( 

3 If 48 men are divided into squads of 8, how many squads will 
there be? Answer ( 

4 Mike had 1 1 cigars. He bought 2 more and then smoked 7. 
How many cigars did he have left? Answer ( 

5 A company advanced 8 miles and retreated 2 mile3. How far 
was it then from its first position? Answer ( 

6 How many hours will it take a truck to go 42 miles at the rate 

of 3 miles an hour? Answer ( 

7 How many pencils can you buy for 60 cents at the rate of 2 
for 5 cents? Answer ( 

8 A regiment marched 40 miles in five days. The first day they 
marched 9 miles, the second day 6 miles, the third 10 miles, the 
fourth 6 miles. How many miles did they march the last 
day? , Answer ( 

9 If you buy 2 packages of tobacco at 8 cents each and a pipe for 
65 cents, how much change should you get from a two-dollar 
bill? , Answer ( 

10 If it takes 4 men 3 days to dig a 120-foot drain, how many men 
are needed to dig it in half a day? Answer ( 

11 A dealer bought some mules for $2,000. He sold them for 
$2,400, making $50 on each mule. How many mules were 
there? Answer ( 

12 A rectangular bin holds 200 cubic feet of lime. If the bin is 

10 feet long and 5 feet wide, how deep is it? Answer ( 

13 A recruit spent one-eighth of his spare change for post cards 
and twice as much for a box of letter paper, and then had $1 .00 
left. How much money did he have at first? Answer ( 

14 If 3H t° ns °f clover cost $14, what will 6}^ tons cost?. .Answer ( 

15 A ship has provisions to last her crew of 700 men 2 months. 
How long would it last 400 men? -Answer ( 

16 If an aeroplane goes 250 yards in 10 seconds, how many feet 
does it go in a fifth of a second? Answer ( 

17 A U-boat makes 8 miles an hour under water and 20 miles on 
the surface. How long will it take to cross a 100-mile chan- 
nel, if it has to go two-fifths of the way under water?. .Answer ( 

18 If 134 squads of men are to- dig 3,618 yards of trench, how 
many yards must be dug by each squad? Answer ( 

19 A certain division contains 5,000 artillery, 15,000 infantry, and 
1,000 cavalry. If each branch is expanded .proportionately 
until there are in all 23,100 men, how many will be added to the 
artillery? Answer ( 

20 A commission house which had already supplied 1,897 barrels 
of apples to a cantonment delivered the remainder of its stock 
to 37 mess halls. Of this remainder each mess hall received 54 
barrels. What was the total number of barrels supplied?. Answer ( 



TEST 3 

This is a test of common sense. Below are sixteen questions. Three answers are given to each 
nestion. You are to look at the answers carefully; then make, a cross in the 6quare before the best 
nswer to each auestion. as in the sample: 

' Why do we use stoves? Because 

□ they, look well 
@ they keep us warm 

□ they are black 

Here the second answer is the best one and is marked with a cross. Begin with No. 1 and keep 
1 until time is called. 



SAMPLE 



It is wiser to put some money aside and not 
spend it all, so that you may 

□ prepare for old age or sickness 

G collect all the different kinds of money 

Q gamble when you wish 

Shoes are made of leather, because 

Q it is tanned 

n it is tough, pliable and warm 

Q it can be blackened 

Why do soldiers wear wrist watches rather 

than pocket watches? Because 

O they keep better time 

Q. they are harder to break 

D they are handier 

The main reason why stone is used for building 

purposes is because 

Q it makes a good appearance 

D it is strong and lasting 

n it is heavy 

Why is beef better food than cabbace? 

Because 

□ it tastes better 

Q it is more nourishing 

□ it is harder to obtain 

If some one does you a favor, what should you 

do? 

Q try to forget it 

□ steal for him if he asks you to 
D return the favor 

If you do not get a letter from home which you 

know was written, it may be because 

.□' it was lost in the mails 

D you forgot to tell your people to write 

Q the postal service has been discontinued 

The main thing the fanners do is to 

D supply luxuries 

Q make work for the unemployed 

D feed the nation 

33 s5 Go to No. 9 above 



9 If a man who can't swim should fall into a 
river, he should 
D yell for help and try to scramble out 

□ dive to the bottom and crawl out 
D lie on his back and float 

10 Glass insulators are used to fasten telegraph 
wires because 

n the glass keeps the pole from being burned 

□ the glass keeps the current from escaping 

□ the glass is cheap and attractive 

11 If your load of coal gets stuck in the mud, 
what should you do? 

O leave it there 

□ get more horses or men to pull it out 
Q throw off the load 

12 Why are criminals locked up? 
n to protect society 

□ to get even with them 

□ to make them work 

13 Why should a married man have his life in- 
sured? Because 

□ death may come at any time 

□ insurance companies are usually honest 

□ his family will not then suffer if he dies 

14 In Leap Year February has 29 days because 

□ February is a short month 

□ some people are, born on February 29th 

□ otherwise the calendar would noi/ come 
out right 

15* If you are held up and robbed in a strange city, 
you should 
D apply to the poliee for help 

□ ask the first man you meet for money to 
get home 

□ borrow some money at a bank 

16 Why should we have Congressmen? Because 

□ the people must be ruled 

□ it insures truly representative government 
Q the people are too many to meet and make 

their laws 



299 



300 APPENDIX B 

are given to each question. You are to look at the answers carefully; then make 
a cross in the square before the best answer to each question, as in the sample: 
" 'Why do we use stoves? Because 
£] they look well 
Q] they keep us warm 
£3 they are black 
" ' Here the second answer is the best one and is marked with a cross. 
"'Begin with No. 1 and keep on until time is called.' — Ready — Go!" After 
1§ minutes, say "Stop! Turn over the page to Test 4." 

Instructions for Giving Alpha Test fy. 

Test 4. — Synonym — Antonym 

" Attention ! Look at the directions at the top of the page while I read them." 
(Examiner. — Read slowly.) 

" 'If the two words of a pair mean the same or nearly the same draw a line 
under "same." If they mean the opposite or nearly the opposite, draw a line under 
"opposite." If you cannot be sure, guess. The two samples are already marked 
as they should be.' — Ready — Go! " 

After 1| minutes, say "Stop! Turn over the page to Test 5." (Pause.) 
"Now you have to turn your books around this way." (Examiner illustrates 
the necessary rotation.) 

Instructions for Giving Alpha Test 5. 

Test 5 — Disarranged Sentences 

"Attention! Look at the directions at the top of the page while I read 
them." (Examiner. — Read slowly.) 

" The words a eats cow grass in that order are mixed up and don't make a 
sentence; but they would make a sentence if put in the right order: a cow eats 
grass, and this statement is true. 

"Again, the words horses feathers have all would make a sentence if put in the 
order all horses have feathers, but this statement is false. 

"Below are 24 mixed-up sentences. Some of them are true and some are 
false. When I say 'go,' take these sentences one at a time. Think what each 
would say if the words were straightened out, but don't write them yourself. 
Then, if what it would say is true draw a line under the word 'true'; if what it 
would say is false, draw a line under the word 'false.' If you cannot be sure, 
guess. The two samples are already marked as they should be. Begin with 
No. 1 and work right down the page until time is called. 'Ready — Go!' " 

After 2 minutes, say "Stop! Turn over the page to Test 6." 






TEST 4 

If the two words of a pair mean the same or nearly the same, draw a 
line under same. If they mean the opposite or nearly the opposite, draw a 
line under opposite. If you cannot be sure, guess. The two samples are 
already marked as they should be 



{: 



,_ . i — bad same — opposite 

^little-small...., same-ofe 



1 no — yes * . same — ^opposite 1 

2 day — night same — opposite 2 

3 go — leave •. . . . . same — opposite 3 

4 begin — commence same — opposite 4 

5 bitter — sweet same — opposite 5 

6 assume — suppose same — opposite 6 

7 command — obey same — opposite 7 

8 tease — plague * same — opposite 8 

9 diligent — industrious same — opposite 9 

10 corrupt — honest .same — opposite 10 

11 toward — from same — opposite 11 

12 masculine — feminine same — opposite 12 

13 complex — simple same — opposite 13 

14 sacred — hallowed same — opposite 14 

15 often — seldom 6ame — opposite 15 

16 ancient — modern same — opposite -fo 

17 enormous — gigantic same — opposite 17 

18 confer — grant same — opposite 18 

19 acquire — lose . same — opposite 19 

20 compute — calculate same — opposite 20 

21 denier— purify same — opposite 21 

22 apprehensive— fearful same— opposite 22 

23 sterile — fertile same — opposite 23 

24 chasm — abyss same — opposite 24 

25 somber — gloomy same — opposite 25 

26 vestige — trace same — opposite 26 

27 vilify — praise same — opposite 27 

28 finite — limited same — opposite 28 

29 contradict — corroborate same — opposite 29 

30 immune — susceptible .same — opposite 30 

31 credit — debit same — opposite 31 

32 assiduous — diligent same — opposite 32 

33 transient — permanent same — opposite 33 

34 palliate — mitigate same — opposite 34 

35 execrate — revile same — opposite 35 

36 extinct — extant same — opposite 36 

37 pertinent — relevant same — opposite 37 

38 synchronous — simultaneous same — opposite 38 

39 supercilious — disdainful same — opposite 39 

40 abstruse — recondite same — opposite 40 



301 



TEST 5 

The words A EATS COW GRASS in that order are mixed up and 
don't make a sentence; but they would make a sentence if put in the 
right order: A COW EATS GRASS, and this statement is true. 

Again, the words HORSES FEATHERS HAVE ALL would make 
a sentence if put in the order: ALL HORSES HAVE FEATHERS, 
but this statement is false. 

Below are twenty-four mixed-up sentences. Some of them are true 
and some are false. When I say "go," take these sentences one at a 
time. Think what each would say 5 the words were straightened out, 
but don't write them yourself. Then, if what it would say is true, draw 
a line under the word "true"; if what it would say is false, draw a line 
under the word "false." If you can not be sure, guess. The two 
samples are already marked as they should be. Begin with No. 1 
and work right down the page until time is called. 



fa i 

(he 



, _, eats cow grass true . . false 

SAMPLES {, . , . „ — ,, 

. horses feathers have all true. . false 

1 , oranges yellow are true, .false 1 

2 hear are with to ears true, .false 2 

3 noise cannon never make a true, .false 3 

4 trees in nests build birds true, .false 4 

5 oil water not and will mix true, .false 5 

6 bad are shots soldiers all true, .false 6 

7 fuel wood are coal and for used true, .false 7 

8 moon earth the only from feet twenty the is . . . .true, .false 8 

9 to life water is necessary true, .false 9 

10 are clothes all made cotton of true. . false 10 

1 1 h6rses automobile an are than slower true . . false 1 1 

12 tropics is in the produced rubber . . , true . . false 12 

13 leaves the trees in lose their fall true . . false 13 

14 place pole is north comfortable a the true, .false 14 

15 . sand of made bread powder and is true . . false 15 

16 sails is steamboat usually by propelled a true, .false 16 

17 is the salty in water all lakes true, .false 17 : 

18 usually judge can we actions man his by a true, .false 18 

19 men misfortune have good never . . true, .false 19 

20 tools valuable is for sharp making steel true, .false 20 

21 due sometimes calamities are accident to true, .false 21 

22 forget trifling friends grievances never true.. false 22 

23 feeling is of painful exaltation the true, .false 23 

24 begin a and apple acorn ant words with the . true, .false 24 



302 



APPENDIX B 303 

Instructions for Giving Alpha Test 6. 

Test 6. — Number Series Completion 

(N. B. Examiner. — Give these instructions very slowly). 

' Attention ! Look at the first sample row of figures at the top of the page — 2 
4, 6, 8, 10, 12, the two numbers that should come next are, of course, 14, 16. 

"Look at the second sample — 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4; the two numbers that should 
come next are 3, 2. 

"Look at the third sample— 2, 2, 3, 3> 4, 4; the two numbers that should 
come next are 5, 5. 

"Now look at the fourth sample — 1, 7, 2, 7, 3, 7; the next two numbers would, 
of course, be 4, 7. 

"Look at each row of numbers below and on the two dotted lines write the two 
numbers that should come next. — Ready — Go!" 

After 3 minutes, say "Stop! Turn over the page to Test 7." 

Instructions for Giving Alpha Test 7 

Test 7. — Analogies 

"Attention! Look at the first sample at the top of the page: Sky — blue: : 
grass — table, green, warm, big. 

"Notice the four words in heavy type. One of them — green — is underlined. 
Grass is green just as the sky is blue. 

"Look at the second sample: Fish — swims : : man — paper, time, walks, girl. 

" Here the word walks is underlined. A man walks and a fish swims. 

"Look at the third sample: Day — night : : white — red, black, clear, pure. 

"Here the word black is underlined because black is the opposite of white just 
as night is the opposite of day. 

" In each of the lines below the first two words are related to each other in some 
way. What you are to do in each line is to see what the relation is between the 
first two words and underline the word in heavy type that is related in the same 
way to the third word. Begin with No. 1 and mark as many sets as you can 
before time is called. — Ready — Go!" 

After 3 minutes, say "Stop! Turn over the page to Test 8." 

Instructions for Giving Alpha Test 8. 

Test 8. — Information 

" Attention! Look at the directions at the top of the page while I read them." 
(Examiner. — Read slowly.) 

"Notice the sample sentences: People hear with the — eyes — ears — nose — 
mouth. The correct word is ears, because it makes the truest sentence. In each 

9 



TEST 6 



SAMPLES 



2 


4 


6 


8 


10 


12 /4 


9 


8 


7 


6 


5 


4 3 


2 


2 


I 


3 


4 


4 5 


1 


7 


2 


7 


3 


7 4 



16 L 

5 
7~ 



Look at each row of numbers below, and on the two dotted lines 
write the two numbers that should come next. 



3 


4 


6 


6 


7 


8 


8 


7 


6 


6 


4 


3 


10 


15 


20 


25 


30 


35 


9 


9 


7 


7 


6 


5 


3 


6 


9 


12 


16 


18 


8 


1 


6 


1 


4 


1 


6 


9 


13 


17 


21 


25 


8 


9 


12 


13 


16 


17 


27 


27 


23 


23 


19 


19 


1 


2 


4 


8 


16 


32 


19 


16 


14 


11 


9 


6 


11 


13 


12 


14 


13 


15 


2 


3 


6 


8 


12 


17 


18 


14 


17 


13 


16 


12 


29 


28 


26 


23 


19 


14 


20 


17 


15 


14 


11 


9 


81 


27 


9 


3 


1 


H 


1 


4 


9 


16 


25 


36 


16 


17 


15 


18 


14 


19 


3 


6 


8 


16 


18 


36 



804 



TEST 7 

f s ky — blue :: grass— table green warm big 
fish — swims :: man — paper time walks girl 
day — nigfat :: white — red black clear pore 

In each of the lines below, the first two words are related to each other in some way. What 
you are to do in each line is to see what the relation is between the first two words, and under- 
line the word in heavy type that is related in the same way to the third word. Begin with 
No. 1 and mark as many sets as you can before time is called. 

J shoe — foot:: hat — kitten* head knife penny 1 

2 pur*— dog :: lamb — red door sheep book 2 

3 spring; — summer :: autumn — winter warm harvest rise 3 

4 devil — angel:: bad — mean disobedient defamed good 4 

5 finger — hand :: toe— body foot skin nail 5 

6 legs — frog::wings — eat swim bird nest ,.. 6 

7 chew — teeth :: smell — sweet stink odor nose 7 

8 lion — roar :: dog — drive pony bark harness 8 

9 cat— tiger :: dog; — wolf bark bite snap , 9 

10 good! — bad :: long— tall big snake short - 10 

11 giant— large :: dwarf — jungle small beard ngly.. II 

12 winter — season •:: January — February day month Christmas 12 

13 skating— winter :: swimming — diving floating hole summer 13 

14 blonde — light : : brunette — dark hair brilliant blonde 14 

15 love — friend ::*hate— maike, saint enemy dislike 15 

16 egg— bird :: seed — grow plant crack germinate 16 

17 dig — trench :: build— run. house spade bullet ......... 17 

18 agree— quarrel :;• friend — comrade need mother enemy.-. 18 

19 palace — king :: hut— peasant cottage farm city t . .-. 19 

20 cloud-burst — shower :: cyclone—bath breeze destroy West...... 20 

21 Washington — Adams :: first — president second last Bryan. 21 

22 parents — command :: Children — men shall women obey _ 22 

23 diamond — rare::iron — common silver ore- steel ,., 23 

24 yes — affirmative t: no — think knowledge yes negative - 24 

25 hour — day :: day — night week hour noon a, 25 

26 eye — head :: window — key floor room door 26 

27 clothes — man : : hair — horse comb beard hat 27 

28 draw — picture. :: make — destroy table break hard 28 

29 automobile — wagon "motorcycle— ride speed bicycle car 29 

30 granary — wheat :: library — read books paper chairs '30 

31 Caucasian — English :: Mongolian — Chinese Indian negro yellow, 31 

32 Indiana — United States :: part — hair China Ohio whole 32 

33 esteem — despise :: friends — Quakers enemies lovers men 33 

34 abide-^stay :: depart — come hence leave late 34 

35 abundant — scarce ::. cheap — buy costly bargain nasty. ....... i . . 35 

36 whaler-large : :' thunder— loud rain lightning kill - 36 

37 rewarcHhero :: punish — God everlasting pain traitor 37 

38 music — soothing : : noise — hear distracting sound report 38 

39 book'— writer :: statue — sculptor liberty picture state i 39 

40 wound — pain:: health — sickness disease exhilaration doctor.... 40 



305 



TEST 8 

Notice the sample sentence : 

People hear with the eyes ears nose > mouth 

The correct word is ears, because it makes the truest sentence.' 

In each of the sentences below you have four choices for the last word. Only one of them is co 
rect. In each sentence draw a Kne under the one of these four words which makes the truest sen 
tence. If you Can not be 6ure, guess. The two samples are already marked as they should be. 



{People hear with the eyes ears nose mouth 
France is in Europe Asia Africa Australia 

1 The apple grows on a 6hrub vine bush tree.- :..,.... 

2 Five hundred is played with rackets pins cards dice. 

3 The Percheron is a kind of goat horse cow sheep 8 

4 The most prominent industry of Gloucester is fishing packing brewing automobiles. 4 
6 Sapphires are usually blue red green yellow 5 

6 The Rhode Island Red is a kind of horse granite cattle fowl A 

7 Christie Mathewson is famous as a writer artist baseball player comedian 7 

8 Revolvers are made by Swift & Co. Smith & Wesson - W. L. Douglas B. T. Babbitt.. . 8 

9 Carrie Nation is known as a singer temperance agitator suffragist nurse...-. ....... .. 9 

10 "There's a reason" is ah "ad" for a drink revolver flour cleanser 10 I 

11 Artichoke is a kind of hay corn jvegetable fodder.-.. 11 

12 Chardisa fish lizard vegetable snake ... > 12 

13 Cornell University is at Ithaca Cambridge Annapolis New Haven ,.....'..;..... 13 i 

14 Buenos Ayres is a city of Spain Brazil Portugal Argentina.... 14; 

15 Ivory is obtained from elephants ..mines oysters reefs : 15 i 

16 Alfred Noyes is famous as a painter poet musician • sculptor '. .~.\ . 16 j 

17 The armadillo is a kind of ornamental shrub animal musical instrument dagger 17 1 

18 The tendon of Achilles is in the ' heel head shoulder . abdomen. 18 I 

19 Criscoisa patent medicine disinfectant tooth-paste food product „ 19 | 

20 An aspen is a machine fabric tree drink j 20 

21 The sabre is a kind of musket sword cannon pistol 21 

22 The mimeograph is a kind of typewriter copying machine phonograph pencil 22 

23 Maroon is a food fabric drink color 23 

24 The, clarionet is used in music stenography book-binding lithography 24! 

25 Denim is a dance food fabric drink 25 I 

26 The author of "Huckleberry Finn" is Poe Mark Twain Stevenson Hawthorne 28 

27 Faraday was most famous in literature war religion science 27 ' 

28 Air and gasolene are mixed in the accelerator carburetor gear case differential 28 

29 The Brooklyn Nationals are called the Giants Orioles Superbas Indians 29 

30 Pasteur is most famous in politics literature war science 30 

31 Becky Sharp appears in Vanity Fair Romola The Christmas Carol Henry Tv* 31 

32 The number of a Kaffir's legs is two four six eight 32 1 

33 Habeas corpus is a term used in . medicine law theology pedagogy 33 

34 Ensilage is a term used in fishing athletics farming hunting '.'. 34 

35 The forward pass is used in tennis hockey football golf 35 

36 General Lee surrendered at Appomattox in 1812 1865 1886 1832 36 

37 The watt is used in measuring wind power rainfall water power electricity 37 

38 The Pierce Arrow car is made in Buffalo Detroit Toledo Flint 38 

39 Napoleon defeated the Austrians at Friedland Wagram Waterloo Leipzig 39 

40 An irregular four-sided figure is called a- scholium triangle trapezium pentagon 40 



306 



APPENDIX B 30? 

of the sentences below you have four choices for the last word. Only one of 
them is correct. In each sentence draw a line under the one of these four words 
which makes the truest, sentence. If you cannot be sure, guess. The two 
samples are already marked as they should be — Ready — Go!" 

After 4 minutes, say "Stop! Turn over the page to Test 1 again. In the 
upper right-hand corner, where it says 'Group No. — ,' put the number 101" 
(or 102, 103, etc., according to the number of this group in the examiner's series 
of groups). 

Directions for Scoring in Alpha Test. 

General Rules 

1. Each item is scored either right or wrong. No part credits are given. 

2. In general, items evidently corrected stand as corrected. 

3. In tests where the score is "Number Right," only wrong items need be 
checked in scoring. In Tests 4 and 5, where the score is " Right minus Wrong," 
wrong and omitted items must be separately checked. 

4. Indicate the last item attempted by drawing a long line under that item and 
out into the margin. 

5. Enter the score for each test in lower right-hand corner of the test page and 
encircle it. When the test has been re-scored, a check mark may be made 
beside the circle. 

6. Red or blue pencil increases accuracy of scoring. 

Test 1 

(Score is number right.) 

1. No credit is given for any item in which more is done than the instructions 
require. 

2. In an item where something is to be written "in" a given space, give credit 
if a mark crosses a line from haste or awkwardness: give no credit if the position 
is really ambiguous. 

3. Where something is to be underlined or crossed out, give credit if two or 
three underlinings are made in the required place, and give credit for any method 
of crossing out. 

4. Item 2. — The pencil line must begin and end either on the circumference or 
within the circles indicated. It may touch the intermediate circles, but must 
not cut through them. 

5. Item 6. — In the circle marked "not 12" there must be some number which 
is not 12, such as 5, 0, 27. 

6. Item 9. — The proper numbers must be crossed out to receive credit. 

7. Item 10. — In Form 5, "2" alone and "3" alone, but not "2 or 3," in each 



308 APPENDIX B 

<>T the two largest purls; "5" alouc and "G" alone, bill not " j or 6," in the n-.^xt 
to tlie smallest part, are correct. Similarly for other forms. 

8. Item 11. — The lines must cross, or at least touch, the proper numbers; 
they may or may not cut the accompanying letters. Mere indication of the 
square, triangle, etc., is not sufficient. 

1). Item 1!2. — Underlining in place of crossing out is wrong. 

Test 2 

(Score is number right.) 

1. Answer may be written on dotted line or elsewhere near its problem. 

2. If two answers are given to any problem count as wrong. 

3. If it seems clear that, by a slip, one answer has been put in the wrong 
bracket, and the next answers are all thus misplaced, give credit for the answers 
that are right even if misplaced. 

4. Omission of dollar sign is permissible. 

5. Omission of decimal point is permissible in items, 2, 9, 13, and 14. Frac- 
tion may be expressed as decimal in item 15. 

Test 3 

(Score is number right.) 

1. Any clear method of indicating answer is given full credit — underlining, 
checking, etc. 

2. If two answers are marked, count as wrong unless one is clearly indicated 
as final. 

Test 4 

(Score is number right minus number wrong.) 

1. Any clear method of indicating answer is given credit. 

2. When both "Same" and "Opposite" are underlined, counts as omitted, 
not as wrong. 

3. If only "Same" is underlined right down the column, score for the test is 
zero. Similarly if "Opposite" is underlined right down the column. 

Test 5 

(Score is number right minus number wrong.) 
Same rides as for Test 4. 

Test 6 

(Score is number right.) 

1. If only one number is written, give no credit. 

2. If only one of the numbers is right, give no credit. 



APPENDIX B 



309 



3. If four numbers are written, as frequently happens with certain items 
(i. e., 33, 11 instead of 3, 3), give full credit. 

Test 7 

(Score is number right.) 

1. Any clear indication other than underlining receives full credit. 

2. Underlining of any of the first three words of an item does not remove 
credit. 

3. If two or more of the last four words are marked, give no credit. 



Test 8 



(Score is number right.) 
Same rules as for Test 7. 



Total Scoke and Rating 

The result of examination Alpha is expressed in a total score which is the sum 
of the raw scores of the several tests. The raw scores are obtained as follows: 



TEST 


METHOD OF 
SCORING 


MAXIMUM 
RAW SCORE 


1 


R 
R 
R 
R-W 
R-W 
R 
R 
R 


12 


2 


20 


3 


16 


4, 


40 


5 


24 


6 


20 


7 


40 


8 


40 


Total 


212 



Letter ratings are assigned on examination Alpha as follows : 



BATING 


SCORE 


A 


135-212 


B 


105-134 


C+ 


75-104 


C 


45-74 


c— 


25-44 


D 


15-24 


D— i 


0-14 



1 RecaIIed for further examination. 

All ratings above "D — " are entered and reported at once. Men whose scores 
are below "D" are recalled for examination Beta. Ratings of "D — " may not be 
given in Alpha, unless recall of the men for Beta is impossible 



310 APPENDIX B 

Method of Giving the Army Beta Tests. 

In practice the Beta tests, reproduced in facsimile on pages 313 to 322 
following, are given with the assistance of a blackboard chart on which the differ- 
ent tests are painted in white, so that the examiner can show them to the entire 
group before they see them on their examination papers. There are also re- 
quired for giving the Beta tests a set of cardboard cubes for the examiner's use 
in explaining Test 2, and a set of cardboard pieces cut to the shapes of the figures 
in Test 7, though of much larger size. The assistance of a demonstrator is also 
required, Procedure. 

It is most important that examination Beta be given in a genial manner. The 
subjects who take this examination sometimes sulk and refuse to work. E. 
and his assistants will find it necessary to fill out most of the headings for the 
men before the examination begins. The time required for this preparatory 
work may be used to advantage in making the men feel at ease. As the demon- 
stration preparatory to each test requires some time, the "pencils up" command 
is omitted in examination Beta. The examiner's platform should be so high 
that he can readily see whether or not the subjects are working. Great care 
should be taken to prevent the overanxious from beginning work before the 
command "Go." 

Seating conditions should be such that subjects cannot copy from one an- 
other and the rule that copying shall not be allowed should be enforced strictly. 
The blackboard should at all times be kept clean so that the visual conditions 
may be excellent and constant. The blackboard figures for Test 1 should be 
exposed when the subjects enter the examining room. As soon as a test has 
been demonstrated and the men have been told to go ahead, the blackboard should 
be covered and kept covered until time is called. It should not be turned to the 
next test until the men have been ordered to stop work on a given test. Care 
should be taken to have the physical conditions of examination reasonably 
uniform. 

With the exception of the brief introductory statements and a few orders, 
instructions are to be given throughout by means of gestures instead of words. 
These gestures accompany the samples and demonstrations and should be 
animated and emphatic. 

It is absolutely necessary that directions be followed closely and procedure 
kept uniform and definite. Variations of procedure are more likely to occur 
in Beta than in Alpha, and there is serious risk that if allowed they will lessen 
the value of results. E. should especially guard against using more or fewer 
gestures of words for one group than for another. Oral languages should be 
rigidly limited to the words and phrases given in the procedure for the different 
tests. 

Whether the men get the idea of the test and enter into it with the proper 
spirit will depend chiefly on the skill with which the examiner, the demonstra- 



APPENDIX B 311 

tor, and the orderlies carry out their respective parts. Examiner and demon- 
strator especially should be selected with the greatest care. An examiner who 
succeeds admirably in giving Alpha may prove to be entirely unadapted for 
Beta. Both examiner and demonstrator must be adept in the use of gesture 
language. In the selection of a demonstrator the Personnel Office should be 
consulted. One camp has had great success with a "window seller" as dem- 
onstrator. Actors should also be considered for the work. The orderlies 
should be able to keep the subjects at work without antagonizing them and to 
keep them encouraged without actually helping them. 

The demonstrator should have the single task of doing before the group just what 
the group is later to do with the examination blanks. The blackboard is his Beta 
blank. Before examination Beta can be given satisfactorily the demonstrator 
must be letter perfect in his part. Both E. and demonstrator must be 
very careful to stand at the side of the blackboard in order not to hide the 
drawings. 

As soon as the men of a group have been properly seated, pencils should be 
distributed and also examination blanks with Test 8 up. While this is being 
done E. should say "Here are some papers. You must not open them or turn 
them over until you are told to." Holding up Beta blank, E. continues: 

"In the place where it says name, write your name; print it if you can. 
(Pause.) Fill out the rest of the blank about your age, schooling, etc., as well 
as you can. If you have any trouble we will help you" (The instructions 
given under segregation may be used for filling out the Beta blank). E. should 
announce the group number and see that it as well as the other necessary in- 
formation is supplied. Before the examination proceeds each paper should be 
inspected in order to make sure that it is satisfactorily completed. 

After the initial information has been obtained, E. makes the following intro- 
ductory remarks: 

"Attention! Watch this man (pointing to demonstrator). He (pointing to 
demonstrator again) is going to do here (tapping blackboard with pointer) what 
you (pointing to different members of group) are to do on your papers (here E. 
points to several papers that lie before men in the group, picks up one, holds 
it next to the blackboard, returns the paper, points to demonstrator and the 
blackboard in succession, then to the men and their papers). Ask no questions. 
Wait till I say 'Go ahead!'" 

In general, when instructing the group to turn from test to test, E. holds up 
a Beta blank before group and follows his own instructions as he gives them. 
As soon as he has turned to desired test or page he says, "This is test X here; 
look!" (Pointing to the page.) 

To suggest to the group the necessity of working rapidly the demonstrator, 
after proceeding very deliberately with the early samples of each test, hurries 
as soon as he has worked out the last sample problem. 



312 APPENDIX B 

(1) lo record his response as fast as he can, 

(2) then to catch E.'s eyes for approval and 

(3) Gnally, to slip away from blackboard, drawing curtain as he does so. 
After the personal data called for on page 1 of blank have been gathered and 

recorded, the orderlies' vocabulary in Beta is rigidly restricted to the following 
words, or their literal equivalents in Italian, Russian, etc.: Yes, No, Sure, Good, 
Quick, How many? Same, Fix it. Under no circumstances may substitutional 
explanations or directions be given. 

Test 1 — Maze 

"Now turn your papers over. This is Test 1 here (pointing to page of record 
blank). Look." After all have found the page, E. continues, "Don't make 
any marks till I say 'Go ahead.' Now watch" After touching both arrows 
E. traces through first maze with pointer and then motions the demonstrator 
to go ahead. Demonstrator traces path through first maze with crayon, slowly 
and hesitatingly. E. then traces second maze and motions to demonstrator 
to go ahead. Demonstrator makes one mistake by going into the blind alley 
at upper left-hand corner of maze. E. apparently does not notice what dem- 
onstrator is doing until he crosses line at end of alley; then E. shakes his head 
vigorously, says "No — no," takes demonstrator's hand and traces back to 
the place where he may start right again. Demonstrator traces rest of maze 
so as to indicate an attempt at haste, hesitating only at ambiguous points. E. 
says "Good." Then, holding up blank, "Look here," and draws an imaginary 
line across the page from left to right for every maze on the page. Then, "All 
right. Go ahead. Do it (pointing to men and then to books). Hurry up." 
The idea of working fast must be impressed on the men during the maze test. 
E. and orderlies walk around the room, motioning to men who are not working, 
and saying, "Do it, do it, hurry up, quick." 

At the end of 2 minutes E. says, "Stop! Turn over the page to Test 2." 

Test 2 — Cube Analysis 

"This is Test 2 here. Look." After everyone has found the page — "Now 
watch." The order of procedure is as follows: 

(1) E. points to the three-cube model on the blackboard, making a rotary 
movement of the pointer to embrace the entire picture. 

(2) With similar motions he points to the three-cube model on shelf. 

(3) E. points next to picture on blackboard and asks, "How many?" 

(4) E. turns to cube model and counts aloud, putting up his fingers while so 
doing, and encouraging the men to count with him. 

(5) E. taps each cube on the blackboard and motions to demonstrator, asking 
him "How many?" 



Test 1 



1. 



2. 



J 




1 








T- 1 


1 


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1 

~r 








1 L 




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=s 


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zr 



1 



u 



u 



E^fl 



4. -* _ 



D 



E^ 



u 



ft 



M 



u 






313 



Test 2 



Z 



zS 



^= 



zsz 



*s 



^^ 



^^? 



z: 



^ 




^ 




zz?i 



2 



ffif 




^f 



se 





r J"f s 




2Sf 



314 



APPENDIX B 315 

(6) Demonstrator (pointing) counts cubes on blackboard silently and writes 
the figure 3 in proper place. 

In the second sample of this test, when E. counts cubes of model he 

(1) counts the three exposed cubes; 

(2) touches the unexposed cube with pointer; and 

(3) without removing pointer turns model, so that hidden cube comes into view 
of group. In other respects procedure with second and third samples is the same 
as with first. 

In counting the 12-cube model, E. (1) counts the top row of cubes in the model 
(left to right), (2) counts the exposed bottom row (right to left), (3) taps with 
pointer the end cube of hidden row, (4) turns the entire model around and com- 
pletes his counting, E. then holds model in same place as drawing and counts 
(in the same order as above) the cubes on blackboard, counting lines between 
front and top row as representing the hidden row. He then asks demonstrator 
"How many?" Demonstrator counts the cubes on blackboard (pointing but 
not speaking) and writes the response. 

Throughout the demonstration the counting is done deliberately, not more 
rapidly than one cube per second. 

At end of demonstration E. points to page and says, "All right. Go ahead." 
At the end of 2| minutes he says, "Stop! Look at me and don't turn the page." 

Test 3— X-0 Series 

"This is Test 3 here. Look." After everyone has found the page — "Now 
watch." E. first points to the blank rectangles at the end, then traces each 
"O" in chart, then traces outline of "O's" in remaining spaces. Demonstrator, 
at a gesture, draws them in. E. then traces first "X" in next sample, moves 
to next "X" by tracing the arc of an imaginary semicircle joining the two, and 
in the same manner traces each "X," moving over an arc to the next. He then 
traces outlines of "X's" in the proper blank spaces, moving over the imaginary 
arc in each case, and motions to demonstrator to draw them in. Demonstrator, 
at a gesture, fills in remaining problems very slowly, standing well to the right 
of the blackboard and writing with his left hand. E. points to page and says, 
"All right! Go ahead. Hurry up!" At end of If minutes he says, "Stop! 
Turn over the page to Test 4." 

Test 4 — Digit — Symbol 

"This is Test 4 here. Look." After everyone has found the page — "Now 
watch." E. points to first digit of key on blackboard and then points to the 
symbol under it. Same for all nine digits in key. E. then (1) points to first 
digit of sample, (2) to the empty space below digit, (3) points to corresponding 
digit of key, (4) points to proper symbol under digit in key, and (5) traces the 



T«sr 3 



I. 



X\x 


X 


x|x 


X 


X 










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a£ 



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X 


X 





X 


X 


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316 



1 




2 




8 




4 


Test 4 

5 


6 




7 




8 




9 






\A 




3 




L 




U 









A 




X 




2 



1. 



3 


1 


2 


1 


3 


2 


1 


4 


2 


3 


5 


2 


9 


1 


4 































2. 



a 



6 



6 


3 


1 


5 


4 


2 


7 


6 


3 


8 


7 


2 


9 


5 


4 


































6 


3 


7 


2 


8 


I 


9 


5 


8 


4 


7 


3 


6 


9 


5 


































1 


9 


2 


S 


3 


7 


4 


6 


5 


9 


4 


8 


5 


7 


6 


































9 


3 


8 


6 


4 


1 


5 


7 


2 


6 


2 


4 


8 


1 


3 


































4 


9 


5 


1 


7 


5 


2 


6 


9 


3 


7 


8 


4 


1 


8 

































317 



318 APPENDIX B 

outline of the proper symbol in the blank space under the digit in the sample. 
Same for first five samples. Demonstrator, at a gesture, fills in all the samples, 
working as follows: (1) Touches the number in first sample with index finger 
of right hand; (2) holding finger there, finds with index finger of left hand the 
corresponding number in key; (3) drops index finger of left hand to symbol for 
number found; (4) holding left hand in this position writes appropriate symbol 
in the lower half of sample. 

Similarly with the other samples. While working, demonstrator should stand 
as far as possible to the left, doing all the samples from this side. 

At the end of demonstration E. says, "Look here" and points to key on page, 
repeating the gestures used in pointing on the blackboard at the beginning of the 
demonstration. Then, "All right. Go ahead. Hurry up!" Orderlies point 
out key to men who are at a loss to find it. At the end of 2 minutes, E. says: 
"Stop! But don't turn the page." 

Test 5. — Number Checking 

"This is Test 5 here." After everyone has found the page, "Now watch." 
In this demonstration E. must try to get "Yes" or "No" responses from the 
group. If the wrong response is volunteered by group, E. points to digits again 
and gives right response, "Yes" or "No" as the case may be. E. points to first 
digit of first number in left column, then to first digit first number in right 
column, then to second digit first number in left column and second digit first 
number in right column; nods head, says "Yes" and makes an imaginary cross 
at end of number in right column. Motions to demonstrator, who makes an 
"X" there. E. does the same for second line of figures, but here he indicates 
clearly by shaking head and saying "no" that certain digits are not identical. 
E. repeats for three more sets and after each, looks at group, says "Yes?" in 
questioning tone and waits for them to say " Yes " or " No." He repeats correct 
reply with satisfaction. Demonstrator checks each after group has responded, 
or at signal from E. if group does not respond. Demonstrator then works out 
remaining items, pointing from column to column and working deliberately. E. 
summarizes demonstrator's work by pointing to the whole numbers in each set 
and saying "Yes" (indicating X) or "No"; if "No," he shows again where the 
numbers are unlike. E. then points to page and says "All right. Go ahead. 
Hurry up!" At the end of 3 minutes E. says "Stop! Turn over the page to 
Test 6." 

Test 6. — Pictokal Completion 

"This is Test 6 here. Look. A lot of pictures." After everyone has found 
the page, "Now watch." E. points to hand and says to demonstrator: "Fix 
it." Demonstrator does nothing, but looks puzzled. E. points to the picture 



150 650 

i41 044 

!579 2579 

1281 3281 

.5190 55102 

(9190 39190 

S58049 650849 

8295017' 3290517 

53015991 63019991 

$9007106 39007106 

59931087 69931087 

251004818 251004418 

299056013 -" 299056013 

36015992, 360155992 

J910066482 391006482 

3510278301 8510273301 

263136996 , 263136996 

451152903 451152903 

J259016275 3295016725 

582039144 582039144, 

31558529 61588529 

211915883 219915883 

S70413822 670143822 

17198591 17198591 

36482991 36482991 



Test 5 

10243586, 10243586 

659012534 : 659021354 

388172902 381872902 

631027594 631027594 

2499901354 2499901534 

2261059310 2261659310 

2911038227. 2911038227 

313377752 313377752 

1012938567 1012938567 

7166220988 7162220988 

3177628449 3177682449 

468672663. 468672663 

9104529003 9194529003 

3484657120 3484657210 

8588172556 8581722556 

3120166671 3120166671 

7611348879 76111345879 

26557239164 < 26557239164 

8819002341 -.. 8819002341 

6571018034 6571018034 

38779762514 38779765214 

39008126557 S9008126657 

75658100398 75658100398 

41181900726 41181900726 

6543920817 ... 6543920871 



319 



Test 6 




320 



APPENDIX B 321 

of the band, then to the place where finger is missing and says to demonstrator: 
''Fix it. Fix it." Demonstrator then draws in finger. E. says, "That's right." 
E. then points to fish and place for eye and says, "Fix it." After demonstrator 
has drawn missing eye, E. points to each of the four remaining drawings and says, 
"Fix them all." Demonstrator works samples out slowly and with apparent 
effort. When the samples are finished E. says, "All right. Go ahead. Hurry 
up!" During the course of this test the orderlies walk around the room and 
locate individuals who are doing nothing, point to their pages, and say " Fix it. 
Fix them," trying to set everyone working. At end of 3 minutes E. says, 
"Stop! But don't turn over the page." 



Test 7. — Geometrical Construction 

"This is Test 7 here. Look." After everyone has found the page, "Now 
watch." Examiner points to the first figure on blackboard. He then takes 
the two pieces of cardboard, fits them on to the similar drawings on blackboard 
to show that they correspond and puts them together in the square on black- 
board to show that they fill it. Then, after running his finger over the line of 
intersection of the parts, E. removes the pieces and signals demonstrator, who 
draws solution in the square on blackboard. The same procedure is repeated 
for the second and third sample. Demonstrator works out fourth sample, after 
much study, pointing from the square to the forms. 

Demonstrator first draws the two small squares in the upper half of the large 
square, then the two triangles in the remaining rectangle. Each small figure 
is drawn in by tracing its entire circumference, not merely the necessary dividing 
lines. While drawing each small figure in the large square, demonstrator 
points with index finger of left hand to the corresponding small figure at left of 
square, taking care not to obstruct the view. At end of demonstration E. 
holds up blank, points to each square on the page and says, "All right. Go 
ahead. Hurry up!" At end of 2| minutes, "Stop! Turn over the page." 
Papers are then collected immediately. 

Scoring the Beta Tests. 

General Rules 

1. In general, items evidently corrected stand as corrected. The only ex- 
ception to this rule is in the maze test. 

2. In tests where the score is number right, only wrong items need be checked 
in scoring. In Test 5, where the score is right minus wrong, wrong and omitted 
items must be separately checked. 

3. Enter the score for each test in lower right-hand corner of the test page and 



1. 



Test 7 



% 





3. 



6.„ 



□ 
□ 




7. 



KA 



a 



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9. 




10. 



S22 



APPENDIX B 323 

encircle it. When the test has been rescored a check may be made beside the 
circle. 

4. Red or blue pencil increases accuracy of scoring. 

Test 1. 

1. One half point for each correctly completed half of maze. A half maze is 
correct if drawn line does not cross any line of maze (except through awkward- 
ness) nor an imaginary straight line across the opening of a wrong passage. 

2. Allow much leeway in the cutting of corners. 

3. Spur running into any blind passage counts wrong for that half-item, even 
though erased. 

4. When two lines are drawn, one straight across the page, the other correct, 
full credit is given. 



Score is number right. 



Test 2. 



Test 3. 



1. Score is number right. 

2. Any incomplete item receives no credit. 

3. Count any item correct if intended plan is carried out. Disregard ad- 
ditional unnecessary marks, such as circles between the crosses of items 2 and 4 
in first part of line, etc. 

Test 4. 

1. Score is one third of number of correct symbols. 

2. Use leniency in judging form of symbol. 

3. Credit symbol for 2 even though reversed. 

Test 5. 

1. Score is right minus wrong (number of items checked that should be 
checked minus number of items checked that should not be checked). 

2. If other clear indication is used instead of crosses, give credit. 

3. If numbers which should not be checked are marked by some other sign 
than is used to check similar pairs, count as though not marked. 

4. If all items are checked, the score for the test is zero. 

Test 6. 

1. Score is number right. 

2. Allow much awkwardness in drawing. Writing in name of missing part 
or any way of indicating it receives credit, if idea is clear. 



3-Jt 



APPENDIX B 



3. Additional parts do not make item wrong, if proper missing part is also 
inserted. 

4. Rules for individual items: 

Item 4. — Any spoon at any angle in right hand receives credit. Left hand, or 
unattached spoon, no credit. 

Item 5. — Chimney must be in right place. No credit for smoke. 

Item 6. — Another ear on same side as first receives no credit. 

Item 8. — Plain square, cross, etc., in proper location for stamp, receives credit. 

Item 10. — Missing part is the rivet. Line of "ear" may be omitted. 

Item 13. — Missing part is leg. 

Item 15. — Ball should be drawn in hand of man. If represented in hand of 
woman, or in motion, no credit. 

Item 16. — Single line indicating net receives credit. 

Item IS. — Any representation intended for horn, pointing in any direction, 
receives credit. 

Item 19. — Hand and powder puff must be put on proper side. 

Item '20. — Diamond is the missing part. Failure to complete hilt on sword 
is not an error. 

Test 7. 

1. Score is number right. 

2. Allow considerable awkwardness in drawing. 

3. Extra subdivisions, if not erased, make item wrong. 

4. Rules for individual items : 

Item 1. — Line of division may be slightly distant from true centre, and need 
not be straight. 

Item 3. — Lines of semi-circumference must start from or near corners of square. 
Item If. — Line must not start from corner. 

4. Total Score and Rating 

The result of examination Beta is expressed as a "total score," which is the 
sum of the raw scores of the several tests. The raw scores are obtained as 
follows: 



TEST 


METHOD OF SCORING 


MAXIMUM 

SCOBE 


1 

2 

8 

4 

6 


Half point for each half maze . 
One third of number right . 


5 

16 
12 " 

SO 

25 


6 


20 


7 

Total 


10 
118 



APPENDIX B 

Letter ratings are assigned on examination Beta as follows: 



325 



BATING 


SCORES 


A 


100-118 


B 


90- 99 


C+ 


80- 89 


c . . . . 


65- 79 


c— 


45- 64 


D 


20- 44 


D-i 


0- 19 






l RecaiIed for individual examination. 





All ratings above D — are entered and reported at once. Men whose scores fall 
below D are recalled for individual examination. 

Ratings of D — may not be given in examination Beta, unless recall of the men 
for individual examination is impossible. 



APPENDIX C 

Method of Calculating the Coefficient of Coordination 
(See Pages 95-97) 

A simple method of determining precisely the degree to which the mental test 
of 28 school children reflects or is related to their scholarship records and the 
teacher's estimate, as shown in the table on Page 96, is to plot the relationship 
graphically, which has been done in the accompanying diagrams. 

In each diagram a heavy diagonal line shows approximately where the plotted 
points would fall if the relationship were perfect between the numbers of errors 
in the educational measurements and the other measure of ability. It is clear 
that the relationship shown in each diagram is far from perfect, but it is not 
clear from the diagrams which rating of the teacher is most nearly approximated 
by the educational measurement scores. To discover this relative degree of 
relationship, a mathematical calculation must be made. For the purposes 
of testing the correspondence between the scores in the various Mentimeter 
tests and the production records or supervisor's ratings of the group of persons 
tested, it is sufficient to calculate what is best called "a coefficient of coordina- 
tion."* 

The first step in the calculation of a coefficient of coordination is the trans- 
formation of the original scores into figures indicating order of merit. In the 
case of the sixth-grade class here referred to, the teacher's ratings of intelligence 
need not be changed, for they are exactly the kind of ratings necessary. 1 in- 
dicating the brightest and 28 the dullest pupil, so far as the teacher was able to 
judge her pupils at the end of a year's work. Since the educational measure- 
ments scores reported are the number of errors made by each child, the rank of 
the child making the smallest numbers of errors will be 1, while the rank of the 
pupil making the largest number of errors will be 28. On the other hand, the 
scholarship marks are the summaries of the teacher's percentage marks for a 
half year, hence the best pupil is the one making the highest percentage. In 
scholarship, then, the highest percentage should get the rank of 1 and the 
lowest percentage a rank of 28. 



•Calculated by a somewhat more complex formula, approximately the same measure of re- 
lationship might be found, called by the more familnr name "coefficient of correlation." 

320 



Graphic picture of relation between test results and Intel! a 
gence ratings given by teacher 



70 


V 


X 


* 






\ 














* 


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60 

B 

CO 

u 

z so 

CO 
05 
O 

w 

b 
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A 


20 






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26 



20 i0 

RATING IN INTELLIGENCE 



327 



Graphic picture of relation between test result*; and scholar- 
ship marks given by teacher 



OV 




x 


c 


c 








* N 






X 






so 








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70 



9<? 
SCHOLARSHIP MARKS 



toe 



328 



APPENDIX C 



329 



The first three columns of the following table give ranks in the place of the 
original figures which indicated numbers of errors in measurements and percentage 
in scholarship. Where two or more individuals are entitled to the same rank, 
the figure used is the middle value of the ranks. Thus in the case of the educa- 
tional measurements scores, two girls made 16.5 errors. There are but two 



BANKING OP SIXTH-GRADE 


PCPIL8 


DIFFERENCES IN RANKINGS 


Name 

of 
Pupil 


A 

Educa- 
tional 
Meas- 
ure- 
ments 


B 

Teacher's 
Ranking 


c 

Scholar- 
ship 
Marks 


A toB 


AtoC 


BtoC 


d 


d2 


d 


d'- 


d 


d» 


Adelaide 
Ruth 

Alexander 
LaMonte 
Earl 


12 

3.5 

9 
14 

28 


19 
15 

7 

6 

18 


18.5 
9. 
5 
5 

24 


7. 
11.5 

— 2. 

— 8. 
—10. 


49. 

132.25 
4. 

64. 
100. 


6.5 
5.5 

— 4. 

— 9 

— 4. 


42.25 

30.25 

16. 

81. 

16. 


0.5 
6. 
2. 
1. 
— 6. 


0.25 
-36. 
- 4. 

1. 
■36. 


Joseph 

Amedeo 

Leo 

William 

Isabel 


6 

27 
16 
17 
8 


20 
14 
3 
9 

21 


18.5 

18.5 
5 
21 

25 


14. 
—13. 
—13. 

—8. 
13. 


196. 

169. 

169. 

64. 

169. 


12.5 
8.5 
—11. 
4. 

17. 


156.25 

72.25 
121. 

16. 
289. 


1.5 

4.5 

— 2. 
—12. 

— 4. 


a 05 
20.25 
4. 
144. 
16. 


Ida 

Hazel 

Frederick 

Charles 

Edward 


13 
1 

23 
20 
11 


4 
10 
26 
13 

1 


3 

9 
16 
18.5 

2 


— 9. 
9. 
3. 

— 7. 
—10. 


81. 

81. 

9. 

49. 

100. 


—10. 

8. 

— l!5 

— 9. 


100. 

64. 

49. 

2.25 

81. 


1. 

1. 

10. 

5.5 

— 1. 


1. 
1. 

100. 
30.25 
1. 


Benjamin 

Bruce 

Alden 

George 

Alice 


22 
19 
18 
21 
10 


24 
22 
12 
17 
11 


26 
14 
14 
14 
12 


2. 

V. 

— 6. 

— 4. 
1. 


4. 

9. 
36. 
16. 

1. 


4. 

— 5. 

— 4. 

7. 
2. 


16. 
25. 
16. 
49. 

4. 


— 2. 
8. 

— 2. 
3. 

— 1. 


4. 
64. 
4. 
9. 
1. 


Almira 

Helen 

Elizabeth 

Amelia 

Edwin 


2 

3.5 
24 
7 
5 


5 

2 
23 

8 
16 


1 
9 

27 
7 
11 


3 

— 1.5 

— 1. 
1. 

11. 


9. 

2.25 
1. 
1. 
121. 


— 1. 
5.5 
3. 

6. 


1 

30.25 

9. 


36. 


4. 

— 7. 

— 4. 
1. 
5. 


16. 

49. 

16. 

1. 

25. 


Robert 

Edna 

Samuel 


25 
15 
26 


28 
27 
25 


28 
23 

22 


3. 

12. 

— 1. 


9. 

144. 

1. 


3. 

8. 

— 4. 


9. 
•64. 
16. 



4. 
3. 




16.0 

9. 



d 2 = 1790.5 



611.0 



pupils making better showings, and therefore Ruth and Helen would normally 
rank third and fourth, but since we have no evidence as to which should rank 
third and which fourth, each is given a rank of 3.5. Similarly it will be observed 
that Alexander, LaMonte, and Leo each obtained a percentage of 93 in scholar- 
ship, therefore the three boys named share equally the fourth, fifth, and sixth 
rank, each being given 5 as a rank; and the next highest pupil, Amelia with a 
percentage of 92, is given 7 as a rank. 



830 APPENDIX C 

The coefficient of coordination, being an index number to show the closeness 

with which two rankings correspond, is dependent upon the differences between 

the rankings of the various individuals in the two measures being compared. 

6 2d 2 
The formula used is p = , „ — rr-, where p stands for the coefficient of co- 
n(n 1) 

ordination, d stands for the difference between an individual's rank in the two 

measures, and n stands for the number of individuals ranked in the two traits. 

The capital sigma, 2, stands for the sum of whatever follows it, in this case the 

squares of the differences between the two rankings. 

We may now employ the formula to find the coefficient of coordination be- 
tween rank in educational measurements and rank in the teacher's judgment 
as to intelligence. The difference between the ranks in column A and column B 
of the above table is given in the fourth column. Adelaide had a 12 in column 
A and a 19 in column B, so the difference (7) appears in the fourth column and 
its square (49) in the fifth column. Similarly the difference between Ruth's 3.5 
and her 15 is 11.5, the square of which is 132.25. Finding the squares of all the 
differences between rank in A and rank in B, and adding these squares together 
at the bottom of the table gives 1790.5, which may now be substituted in the 
formula for 2 d 2 . n, the number of pupils is in this case 28, and therefore 
n (n 2 — 1) is 28 (28 squared less 1) = 28 (784 — 1) = 28 x 783 = 21924. The 
substitution in the formula then goes as follows; 

6 2d 2 , 6x1790.5 , 10743. 

P =1 - n(n 2 -l) =1 - 28x783 = 1 ~ 2T924. = * ~' 49 ° = - 51 ° 
The coefficient of coordination between rank in the educational measurements 
and rank in the teacher's estimate of intelligence for the sixth grade class is .51, 
which suggests the question of how to interpret a coefficient after it is found. 

A coefficient of 1.00 would mean perfect coordination and would only be found 
when there were no differences whatever between the two rankings considered. 
Such a perfect relationship will probably never be found, except by some freak 
of chance, for even when a group of persons is retested with the same test there 
is almost certain to be some change in their relative standings. A coefficient 
of 0.00 would indicate no relation whatever between the two rankings, while a 
coefficient of — 1.00 would mean perfect correlation of a negative sort, the person 
getting highest in one measure getting lowest in the other, the person scoring 
next to the highest in one scoring next to the lowest in the other, and so on. 
Perfect negative correlation is as infrequent as perfect positive correlation. 

The coefficient found between the teacher's estimates of intelligence and the 
results of educational measurements, .51, indicates a really useful degree of coor- 
dination. Unless a Mentimeter test shows a coefficient of coordination of .25 
or more with the production records (or other reliable measure of true ability), 
it may be considered as having little value in helping to select and differentiate 
men for that particular line of work. If the coefficient is above .5, the test is 



APPENDIX C 331 

quite useful, and the nearer the coefficient approaches 1.00 the more confidence 
one may place in the test as a means of selecting and classifying men in that par- 
ticular field. 

The sixth column of the table on page 8 gives' the difference between the test 
results rankings and the scholarship marks rankings, and the seventh column 
gives the squares of these differences, the sum of these squares being given at 
the bottom of the seventh column as 1411.5. By substituting in the formula, 

6 2d 2 , 6x1411.5 , 8469. 

P^-nlnM) =1 --28x-783- = * ~ 2Um. = * " -^ = .614, 
it appears that the tests more closely correspond with the average of the scholar- 
ship marks given by the teacher than with the teacher's estimate of intelligence. 
This is partly to be explained by the fact that the tests given were measurements 
of ability in school subjects rather than tests of intelligence, and still more by 
the fact that the teacher gave scholarship marks on the basis of relatively ob- 
jective examinations while her estimates of intelligence are always wholly sub- 
jective. 

The eighth and ninth columns on page 8 give the differences between the ranks 
in the teacher's estimates of intelligence and the ranks in the scholarship marks 
given during a half year. The coefficient of coordination worked out from these 

differences is .833 (p = 1 - |±|g - 1 - g |jg = 1 - .167 = .833) 

which would seem to indicate that the teacher drew very heavily on her knowl- 
edge of the relative scholarship of her pupils in making her estimates of their in- 
tellectual capacities. 

The three coefficients worked out above for 28 pupils in a sixth grade are 
typical of the mathematical relationships the reader will wish to work out be- 
tween known degrees of ability in a certain type of work and the results of the 
Mentimeter tests. The coefficients of coordination for the sixth-grade pupils 
studied above are, between 

Educational Measurements and Estimated intelligence = .51 
Educational Measurements and Scholarship Averages = .61 
Estimated Intelligence and Scholarship Averages = .83 

No method of forecasting degree of success in one line of work from quality of 
performance in another task (or in a test) will give a perfect coefficient of co- 
ordination of 1.00, but the nearer the coefficient approaches 1.00 the more 
reliance one may put in the test which furnishes such a ranking of the individuals. 



APPENDIX D 

Correct Answer for Mentimeter Tests 

The advantages of a carefully standardized test over an ordinary examination 
which any one might prepare for his own use are chiefly the characteristics 
implied in the word "standard." A standard test is one which has been care- 
fully prepared after extensive experience with similar tests; one which is made 
exact and objective by the most minute specifications as to how it shall be ap- 
plied, marked, scored, and interpreted; and one on which many persons of vary- 
ing degrees of proved ability have been tested and reported, for comparison with 
the results to be obtained later from testing other persons of undetermined de- 
grees of ability. The purpose of this section of the appendix is to make definite 
and unmistakable the answers to the questions asked in the Mentimeter tests, 
in order that each reader may mark and interpret the results of these tests in 
exactly the same way, that is, in the "standard" way. 

As was stated in the body of the discussion, each package of test booklets sold 
is accompanied by a "stencil" which fits over the pages of the printed test in 
such a manner as to bring the correct answer directly alongside the answer 
checked or written by the candidate examined, with the result that there is small 
opportunity for errors in the judgment of the persons making the answers. If 
the word checked or written corresponds with the word or words printed on the 
stencil at that point, the question has been answered correctly, while if the word 
checked or written by the candidate is less applicable than the one appearing on 
the stencil, the response is to be marked incorrect. With the aid of the stencils 
the Mentimeter tests may be marked correctly by inexpensive clerical assist- 
ants in from one third to one tenth of the time that would be required for the 
same work by the most intelligent men working without the stencils. 

No attempt has been made to print here an exhaustive list of correct answers 
to each question. The answers printed as correct are merely typical in 
most cases of the quality of replies that should be accepted. Anything as appro- 
priate as or more appropriate than the printed answer may be given full credit, 
while anything less satisfactory is to be given no credit at all. To print here all 
of the correct answers to each question would take more pages than can be 
allowed for this section of the Appendix and would in many cases cause more 
confusion than clearness of thought. It is suggested that any question of right 
or wrong answers which is difficult to decide should be settled arbitrarily by the 

332 



APPENDIX D 333 

reader and that a note be kept of just how the matter was decided, in order that 
any later investigator may have the benefit of his judgment. In some of the 
tests new solutions will continually be appearing, even after it seems certain 
that all of the correct answers have been found and catalogued. 

MENTIMETER NO. 1: Typical Performances of Young Children. 

Success in this test is measured by performances in response to situations 
created by the examiner to a much greater degree than by answers to questions 
asked by the examiner. The directions themselves give the answers in most 
cases, and in the other cases the correct answers depend upon such facts as the 
name or sex of the individual being tested. No set of answers is printed here 
for these tests, therefore, since to do so would be to reprint exactly the directions 
appearing on pages 115 to 128, which the reader should consult carefully and 
even commit to memory before undertaking to apply the tests to any infants or 
young children. 

MENTIMETER NO. 2: Pictorial Absurdities. 

In order to receive credit the check mark on each picture should be placed 
in such a way as to indicate unmistakably the part of the picture which is in- 
correct — in such a way as to leave no doubt whatever as to the candidate's 
having found and identified the incongruous element. The following are the 
elements that should be checked in each picture: 

1. The front leg or foot. 

2. The lower spout on the water pitcher. 
8. The mouth on the forehead. 

4. The horns (either one may be checked) on the horse's head. 

5. The candle on the right arm of the electric fixture. 
6 The rat's ears. 

7. Either end of the spy-glass. 

8. The next window to the rear on the third floor. 

9. The postage stamp. 

10 The sock used as a necktie. 

11. The long stem of the lowest leaf. 

12. The flag (flying in the opposite direction from the smoke and weather 

vane). 

13. Either of the lights on the Ford. 

14. The left front foot. 

15. The man between first and second base (third man from the right). 

16. The space between 4 and 5. 

17. The claw hammer with which the man is driving the spike. 

18. Either of the five fingers of the right hand. 

19. The driver (facing the tail). 



334 APPENDIX D 

20. The ball being played by the man at the right. 

21. The incandescent electric bulb. 

22. Either of the roller skates. 

23. The knife in the man's right hand. 

24. Either of the counterbalance weights on the drivewheels. 

MENTIMETER NO. 3: Maze Threading. 

No list of correct answers can be printed for this test. The stencil provided 
with the test blanks shows exactly what the correct and most economical thread- 
ing of each maze i», but the reader can find this solution for himself if he will take 
the time and make the effort. No credit should be given for any maze not 
completely traced or for any maze in which a printed line has been crossed. A 
candidate who has gotten into a "blind alley" but has retraced his way and 
ultimately been successful in getting through the maze should have full credit 
for that particular maze. 

MENTIMETER NO. £: Dot Pattern Correction. 

Here again, the only way of giving the correct solution of each problem is by 
means of the transparent stencil furnished with each package of test blanks. 
That dot which can be "cut out" and still leave a perfectly symmetrical figure 
is the one which should be circled in each pattern. This is frequently at the 
very centre of the pattern, although the centre is not the correct one if by remov- 
ing it the pattern is left unsymmetrical. 

MENTIMETER NO. 5: Dividing Geometric Figures. 

Only a transparent stencil can give a clear impression of the correct solution 
of each figure. In dividing a circle into two equal parts it makes no difference in 
what direction the diameter is run — in other words, any correct solution should 
be accepted and given full credit. 

MENTIMETER NO. 6: Completion of Form-Series. 

Only the stencil supplied with the test blanks can represent adequately the 
correct completion of each series. No credit is given in a series unless each blank 
is correctly filled. 

MENTIMETER NO. 7: Checking Identity of Numbers. 

1. Same 6. Different 

2. Different 7. Same 

3. Different 8. Same 

4. Different 9. Different 

5. Same 10. Same 



APPENDIX D 



335 



11. Different 

12. Same 
IS. Different 

14. Different 

15. Same 



21. Different 

22. Same 

23. Same 

24. Same 

25. Same 



16. Different 

17. Different 

18. Different 

19. Same 

20. Different 



26. Different 

27. Same 

28. Same 

29. Different 

30. Same 



MENTIMETER NO. 8: Digit Symbol Substitution. 

The reader may, by reference to the Key printed at the top of the test sheet, 
determine for himself the correctness of any symbol written by a candidate. The 
stencil furnished with the Test Blanks makes it possible for one to score this test 
very accurately with a very small expenditure of time and effort. In scoring 
this test with the stencil the correctness of the entire list of 100 characters 
can be checked in less than a minute by an ordinary clerk. 



MENTIMETER NO. 9: Completion of Number Relation Series. 

No credit is to be given on any line unless all of the missing numbers are cor- 
rectly supplied. The score is the number of lines completed correctly in every 
detail. 
6 - 



14 



41 



10 



11 
10 

8 



33 



30 



51 



31 
15 



20 



14 



Hi 



34 



16 



1 
50 
25 

16 
49 
37 



45 



27 



17 



74 



19 



24 



19 



49 



10 



6 
51 



Series 1 

Series 2 

Series 3 

Series 4 

Series 5 

Series 6 

Series 7 

Series 8 

Series 9 

Series 10 

Series 11 

Series 12 

Series 13 

Series 14 

Series 15 

Series 16 



336 APPENDIX D 

MENTIMETER NO. 10: Addition Tests 

Test A: Addition Knowledge or Power. 

1. 5 7. 142 

2. 8 8. 248 

3. 17 9. 1397 

4. 79 10. 1664 

5. 56 11. 5571 

6. 88 12. 50362547 



Test B: Addition Speed 



1. 


6 


2. 


17 


3. 


6 


h 


11 


5. 


6 


6. 


11 


7 


3 


8 


9 


9. 


15 


10. 


10 


11. 


13 


12. 


7 


13. 


10 


Ik. 


7 


15. 


3 


16. 


5 


17. 


16 


18. 


4 


19. 


12 


20. 


11 



21. 


13 


22. 


7 


23. 


8 


n. 


13 


25. 


14 


26. 


6 


27. 


11 


28. 


8 


29. 


12 


30. 


13 


31. 


15 


32. 


18 


33. 


5 


3k. 


13 


35. 


13 


36. 


14 


37. 


10 


38. 


15 


39. 


15 


ko. 


12 



u. 


11 


w. 


14 


hs. 


11 


u. 


11 


k5. 


16 


k6. 


11 


k7. 


15 


h8. 


12 


k9. 


9 


50. 


14 


51. 


4 


52. 


9 


53. 


5 


51 


17 


55. 


11 


56. 


7 


57. 


7 


58. 


9 


59. 


13 


60. 


12 



MENTIMETER NO. 11: Memory for Numbers. 

1. 56 9. 268359 

2. 27 10. 635927 

3. 935 11. 9583624 
k. 416 12. 8195263 

5. 7493 13. 35268349 

6. 4857 U. 28593614 

7. 95738 15. 639481725 

8. 68124 16. 7149G3528 



APPENDIX D 337 



MENTIMETER NO. 12: Repeating Numbers Backward. 

1. 85 7. 35291 

2. 46 8. 69824 

3. 253 9. 752638 

4. 948 10. 746951 

5. 4937 11. 4857362 

6. 8625 12. 5746283 



MENTIMETER NO. 13: Memory for Sentences. 

1. It snows in the winter. 

2. Men usually have more dignity than boys. 

3. There is no excuse for being thoughtless about the rights of other people. 

4. The price of peace may sometimes be much greater than a nation can 

afford to pay. 

5. It is unfortunate that war should ever be necessary among civilized na- 

tions. 
' 6. Their harbour is a shallow body of water, connected with, but protected 
from, the open sea. 

7. Conscience asserting itself as the voice divine within the human soul is 

nothing less than a real actuality. 

8. Each state appoints a number of electors equal to the whole number of 

senators and representatives. 

9. These discoveries — gunpowder, printing-press, compass, and telescope- 

were the weapons before which the old science trembled. 
10. The use of italic type is indicated in the author's manuscript by under- 
' scoring the letters, words, phrases, or sentences that are to be italicized. 



MENTIMETER NO. U: Speaking Vocabulary Test. 

Any explanation, which demonstrates conclusively that the candidate knows the 
nature and use of the word or object mentioned by the examiner, should be accepted 
and given credit, regardless of the logical or grammatical form of the statements. 
The explanatory words and phrases given below are not intended to serve as 
logical definitions or as exhaustive explanations, but merely to indicate the 
various types of thing that a given word might signify. In examining very 
intelligent adults, meanings not listed below but nevertheless correct and appro- 
priate may be encountered. If any standard dictionary lists as authentic the 
meaning given by a candidate, it should be accepted without challenge. Repe- 
titions by the candidate of the word to be explained should not be accepted as an 
explanation. For example, "buy" is not explained by "Buy is when you buy 



338 APPENDIX D 

something." An explanation, to be satisfactory, should be in terms entirely 
different from the thing to be explained, although explanations otherwise quite 
simple are acceptable here. 

1. An article of clothing, a covering or something to wear. 

2. Obtaining possession or rights in an object in exchange for a price or other 

consideration. 

3. Written or printed matter, usually bound in covers for convenience in 

reading. 

4. A supply of goods or a place where such goods are kept. To lay away or 

deposit such supplies. 

5. A musical instrument or term. 

6. To have or gain temporary possession or rights, in return for some price or 

favour. The price paid for such rights. An opening or torn place, es- 
pecially in cloth. 

7. The flesh of cattle, especially when used as food. 

8. A custom or rule established by a legislature or governing authority, or by 

the nature of the facts concerned. 

9. A malady, illness, or infirmity, frequently accompanied by pain or weak- 

ness. 

10. Uncertainty or hesitation in belief; dread, fear, distrust, or suspicion. 

11. An officer who decides disputes or acts as umpire. To decide, pass judg- 

ment, or compare the relative merits of ideas, opinions, or objects. 

12. The coming or occurrence of something considered desirable but not 

foreseen as certain. Lucky. 

13. One who attends to letters, papers, or business matters for another individ- 

ual or group of individuals. A writing desk. 

14. Kingly or magnificent. Characteristic of or related to a king or ruler. 

15. A watercourse or channel, usually artificial. A tube or duct. 

16. An eager desire or longing, usually of a selfish nature. 

17. A person of fair hair, skin, and eyes. Light coloured. 

18. Property or possessions having money value. Riches. Goods. 

19. To allow, let, authorize, or give consent. A license or permission. 

20. Sagacity, knowledge, discretion. Ability to judge or discern, especially 

in matters of conduct. 

21. To direct or control action. To manage, supervise, or exercise authority. 

22. Authority or permission to do or act. Excess of freedom or abuse of 

liberty. To authorize or grant permission. 

23. To strive for the same prize or object. To contend in rivalry. 

24. The largest of the planets. A Roman god. 

25. Humility, self-control, diffidence. Proper delicacy and propriety about 

self and actions. 

26. A scheme or plan to be followed. Procedure based on material interest 



APPENDIX D 339 

rather than on higher principles. A certificate of insurance or of money 
due under certain conditions. 

27. The act or instrument used in determining the exact degree or quantity 
of a thing. The unit of amount. A division or part of a tune or other 
object. To determine degree or quantity. 

£8. Inspiration, ecstasy, emotion, eagerness, or the object of such manifes- 
tations. 

29. Rate of interest, commission, or discount. Number of parts concerned 
in a hundred. 

SO. A measure of distance or area. An agreement between two parties for 
accomplishing a common task. To combine for mutual support. 

81. A theory or system of social reorganization. Social reform through politi- 
cal agencies. A theoretically ideal society or state. 

32. The science of exact reasoning. The laws or method of abstract thought. 
A treatise on thinking or reasoning. 

S3. To regard with reverence, respect, or veneration. To adore. 

34. Satire, ridicule, contemptuous remarks, bitter taunts. 

35. Sarcastic reproach, invective. To deride, revile, or reproach with insult- 

ing words. 

36. Not transparent, dark, impervious to rays of light. Unintelligible, stupid. 

37. One making a first appearance in society or before the public. 

38. Act of repairing or restoring. Giving satisfaction or compensation for a 

wrong or injury. 

39. To take the tenth part of or to destroy a considerable proportion of a 

group. 

40. An instrument used to regulate an electric current. 

41. Knowing all things. Infinitely wise. One who is possessed of universal 

knowledge. 

42. To curse or treat basely. Used in imprecations, frequently with little 

meaning. 

43. A cat-like animal resembling the leopard found in India, Persia, and 

Africa. 

44. A very large and strong animal — especially one mentioned in the Bible. 

45. A bay window, particularly one which projects from the face of a wall. 

46. One of the great stones or boulders used in prehistoric monuments. 

47. A soft, white substance that forms a protecting sheath about the centre of 

medullated nerve fiber. 

48. An ancient manner of writing. Ancient writings, or the study of such 

writings. 

49. The branch of surgery that treats of adding artificial parts to the body to 

replace natural parts which are wanting. 

50. The dried tubers of various orchids, used for food, like tapioca. 



340 



APPENDIX D 



MENTIMETER NO. 15: Word Discrimination. 

Any real difference named by the candidate between the two words to be 
compared should be given credit wliether it appears in the following list or not. 
The list merely points out some of the outstanding differences between the 
words of each pair, but does not attempt to list all of the possible differences. 
Any difference mentioned by the candidate which is confirmed by any standard 
dictionary should be sufficient to give full credit. 



1. A bird lives in the air : 

flies 

has feathers 
£. A snake is long : 

is a reptile 
crawls 
has no wings or legs 

3. A pen writes only when it has ink : 

is made of steel or hard 
metal 

does not have to be sharp- 
ened 

4. An eagle flies very high and long : 

distances 
is wild 
is not good for food 

5. A book usually has a hard cover : 

is usually one story, by 

one author 
is published once 

6. An orange has a reddish yellow : 

color 
is spherical in shape 
is usually larger than a 

lemon 
is usually sweet 

7. A teacher works in a school : 

usually teaches children 

deals primarily with : 
academic subjects 

8. Luck comes to a person by chance : 

is a temporary advantage 
comes to everyone 



A fish lives in the water 
swims 
has scales 
A fly is short 

is an insect 
flies 

has wings and legs 
A pencil writes without ink 

is made of lead or soft ma- 
terial 
has to be sharpened 

A chicken flies very low and but a 
short distance 
is domestic 
is good for food 
A magazine has a paper cover 

is several stories, by dif- 
ferent people 
is published periodically 
A lemon has a bright yellow colour 

is oblong in shape 

is usually smaller than an 

orange 
is usually sour 
A preacher works in a church 

usually addresses grown- 
ups 
deals primarily with re- 
ligious subjects 
Pluck is part of a person's character 
is a permanent advantage 
is characteristic of a few 



APPENDIX D 



S41 



9. Stone is a natural product, made : 
of mineral matter 
is used for buildings 
is thick and coarse 

10. A balloon depends on the wind : 

for motion 
has a large gas bag 
moves slowly 

11. To plod is to work or travel : 

slowly but steadily 
is to toil, to drudge 

12. To wither is to fade, to lose fresh- : 

ness 
is to languish 
flowers wither 

13. To surprise is to come upon one : 

unawares, or unexpectedly 

14. Rash means overhasty in coun- : 

sel or action 
means undertaking a mat- 
ter without sufficient re- 
flection 

15. Lonely is to be without desired : 

companions 

16. Sorrow is pain of mind from loss : 

or disappointment 
is deep seated, lasting 

17. Plutocrat is one whose wealth : 

gives him power or influence 

18. A rascal is a mean, tricky person : 

19. To plunder is to take goods by : 

force, to pillage 

20. To relinquish is to abandon the : 

thing which has been pos- 
sessed, or the object of pursuit 

21. Shrewd means artful, malicious, : 

cunning, of less dignity than 
sagacious 

22. Dormant means sleeping, not in 

action : 



China is made artificially of fiae earth 
or clay 

is used for dishes 

is thin and fragile 
An airplane is run by a motor 

has no gas bag 
moves rapidly 
To plot is to scheme or plan, usually 
for evil to someone else 
is to conspire, to intrigue 
To shrivel is to dry up, to draw into 
wrinkles 
is to shrink 
vegetables shrivel 
To astonish is to strike one with 

sudden wonder or amazement 
Reckless means careless, utterly heed- 
less of consequences 
means indifferent or thought- 
less 

Solitary is to be absolutely alone 

remote from society 
Sadness is being downcast or unhappy 

may be transient, passing x 
Autocrat is an absolute sovereign, 
having usually inherited authority 
A rogue is an idle, mischievous person 
To devastate is to lay waste, to deso- 
late, to ravage 
To resign is to formally return or 
give up an office, to submit, to 
acquiesce, to abdicate 
Sagacious means one of keen penetra- 
tion and judgment, one with a com- 
prehensive as well a penetrating 
mind 
Quiescent means resting, in a state 
of repose 



342 



APPENDIX D 



23. Reconstruction means to form : Rehabilitation means to invest again 



24. Reparation 



anew 


with some right or 


means to build 


dignity 


over again 




deals more 


deals largely with men- 


largely with 


tal and spiritual 


material things 


things 


means restoration, : 


Indemnity means immunity from loss 


renewing: repair- 


or damage 


ing damage done 


remuneration for injury 


has more of the idea 


has more of the idea of pay- 


of replacing things 


ing for things destroyed 


destroyed 





MENTIMETER NO. 16: Naming Opposites. 

Except in special cases indicated below, no credit should be allowed for adding 
"not" or "un" or any other negative prefix to the printed word. An entirely 
different word should be used as the opposite of the printed word. Those 
words printed in parentheses in the following list should not be given credit as 
being satisfactory opposites. Words not printed below but as satisfactory op- 
posites as those printed should be given full credit, while words as unsatisfactory 
as those printed in parentheses should not be given credit. 



1. 


bad, poor (not good) 


16. 


somewhere, everywhere 


2. 


poor, needy, indigent 


17. 


fresh 


3. 


big, large, great (tall) 


18. 


idle 


4. 


old, ancient 


19. 


to sink (to swim) 


5. 


easy, soft 


20. 


rough, ragged 


6. 


light (white) 


21. 


tame, domestic 


7. 


clean, pure 


22. 


weakness 


8. 


well, healthy 


23. 


guilty 


9. 


south 


24. 


ignorance, stupidity 


10. 


full, filled 


25. 


negative, uncertain 


11. 


pull 


26. 


superior 


12. 


right, correct 


27. 


modern, new 


13. 


end, ending 


28. 


cause 


14. 


wide 


29. 


generous, liberal 


15. 


evening, afternoon (night) 


30. 


concrete, specific 



APPENDIX D 



343 



81. justice, impartiality 

32. dilatory, sluggish 

33. extravagant, wasteful, uneco- 

nomical 

34. genuine, real 

35. depression, melancholy 



36. delay, impede, hamper 

37. confident, bold, immodest 

38. heterogeneous 

39. cowardly, irresolute, fearful 

40. slanderous, scurrilous, vilifying 



MENTIMETER NO. 17: Spelling Tests 

The word lists themselves furnish the correct answers and therefore no further 
set of answers is needed here. See pages 199-200 for the lists. 



MENTIMETER NO. 18: Range of Information 



1. COW 

2. CLUBS 

3. CIGARETTE 

4. CARPENTER 

5. GREEN 



21. STATESMAN 

22. POUGHKEEPSIE 

23. LAW 

24. TWO 

25. DICKENS 



6. AUTOMOBILES 

7. DOG 

8. ACTRESS 

9. HUYLER 
10. 1861 



26. ENGLAND 

27. BIRD 

28. ATHLETICS 

29. DRINK 

30. INK 



11. COUNTY 

12. PAINTER 

13. MOTORCYCLE 

14. NOVELIST 

15. FILING-CASE 



31. FRUIT 

32. ISOSCELES 

33. 1066 

34. HEART 

35. PLANT 



16. DISTANCE 

17. LEG 

18. REEFS 

19. WATER 

20. STOWE 



36. KOREA 

37. OXYGEN 

38. MUSIC 

39. CLOTH 

40. ANIMAL 



MENTIMETER NO. 19: Reading Vocabulary. 

1. BODY, TOOL 6. CLOTHES 

2. ANIMAL 7. ANIMAL, BODY 

3. CLOTHES 8. TOOL, FISH 

4. COLOUR 9. BODY 
6. BIBD 10. TOOL 



3M APPENDIX D 

11. BIRD 26. TOOL 

12. COLOUR 27. TIME 

13. FISH 28. ANIMAL 

14. WAR 29. COLOUR 

15. TIME 30. WAR 

16. WAR 31. TIME 

17. ANIMAL 32. CLOTHES 

18. FISH 33. BODY 

19. TIME 34. BIRD 

20. CLOTHES 35. FISH 

21. WAR 36. BODY 

22. BODY 37. WAR 

23. COLOR 38. TOOL 

24. BIRD 39. ANIMAL 

25. FISH 40. BIRD 

MENTIMETER NO. 20: Reading, Directions. 

1. The name should be written on the line. 

2. There should be a cross or an x in the square. 

3. There should be a cross or an x in the circle and a dot or period in the square. 

4. There should be a 1 under the letter M and a 2 under the letter W, in the 

list of capital letters beginning A, N, etc. 

5. The word "Yes" should be written on the dotted line. 

6. The word "in" should be crossed out and the word "and" should have 

two lines or circles around it. 

7. The word "seven" or the figure 7 should be written on the blank at the 

left, "twelve" or 12 on the middle blank, and "one hundred" or 100 on 
the blank at the right. 

8. "Ten" or 10 should be written in the square on the left, a small circle 

should be written in the second square, and the letter "C" in the triangle 
at the right. 

9. There should be a line drawn under the word " Peck." 

10. The word "thousand" or 1000 should be written in the circle. 

11. The square in front of the word "diminished" should have a check mark or 

cross on it. 

12. There should be a line under the word "Face. " 

MENTIMETER NO. 21: Reading, Interpretation. 

Answers must show conclusively that the questions and the sentences answer- 
ing them were read and understood by the candidate. 

1. Boys. 

2. In the houes. 



APPENDIX D 345 

S. Girls. 

4. On farms, in stores, mines, and factories. 

5. In the things they enjoy and in the things they are able to do. 

6. Wheat, corn, and cattle. 

7. To make clothing to keep us warm. 

8. To protect us from rain and snow. 

9. Differences between people. 

10. Because the world has all sorts of work that must be done, or it makes 

possible the adjustment of people to the different tasks to be done. 

11. Much of it would be poorly done. 

12. The difficulty of the task. 

13. Discontentment and unhappiness. 

14. "Expeditiously" suggests a lack of economy in time and money. 

15. Intellectual measurements. 

16. The consummation of the science of personnel engineering. 



MENTIMETER NO. 22: Disarranged Sentences. 

The most frequent arrangement of the words in each sentence is indicated 
below by the last word. Any other arrangement of these words which produces 
a perfectly logical and grammatical sentence may be accepted. Very few 
sentences will be found that are not already provided for in the concluding words 
listed below. 

1. WHITE. 11. FOOD. VALUABLE, 

2. ROBIN. BIRD. 12. TREES. 

S. WATER. 13. GERMANY. ENGLAND. 

FRANCE. 

4. HOUSES. 14. PUNISHED. 

5. WITH. 15. OCEAN. 

6. WEST. 16. MISTAKES. 

7. COUNTRY. 17. NIGHTS. SEEN. 

8. COLDEST. 18. CLOTHING. USEFUL. 

9. FOOD. 19. DEBATERS. 

10. EARTH. 20. WARFARE. POISONOUS. 

21. DEGRADING. UNFORTUNATE. 

22. CRIMES. BIGAMY. PERJURY. 

23. PSYCHOLOGISTS. 

24. STEALING. 

25. FACT. OBSERVED. APPLIED. 



346 APPENDIX D 

MENT1METER NO. 23: Completion of Sentences. 

It is impossible for any one to make out a complete list of all the possible com- 
pletions of any group of twenty sentences such as those included in thi3 test. 
The list of completions given below is therefore merely suggestive of the perfect 
sentences which may be made and is not intended in any way to be exhaustive. 
Anything which is as good as the completion listed below should be given full 
credit. Anything which is not so satisfactory should not be given credit. 

1. Is or was. 

2. To. 

3. Gave, or gives. 

4. Girl or child in the first blank, and to in the second blank. 

5. And in the first blank, with dogs in the second blank. 

6. Have, make or gain. 

7. Not or never in the first blank, with parents, friends, or sister in the second 

blank. 

8. Boy, man or child in the first blank, with fell in the second blank. 

9. 7s or was in the first blank, with to in the second blank, and windy in the 

third blank. 

10. Succeeds or can. 

11. Animal in the first blank, his or its in the second blank, and size in the 

third blank. 

12. Man in the first blank, with carried or carries in the second blank, and wore 

or wears in the third blank. 

13. On in the first blank, quenches in the second blank, drink in the third blank, 

and cold or pure in the fourth blank. 

14. Patriotism in the first blank, waving or carrying in the second blank, come 

or go in the third blank, and marching in the fourth blank. 

15. That or which in the first blank, worth in the second blank, well in the third 

blank, doing in the fourth blank. 

16. Does or can in the first blank, give in the second blank, every in the third 

blank. 

17. When in the first blank, better in the second blank, practice in the third 

blank, at in the fourth blank, wrong in the fifth blank, doing in the sixth 
blank. 

18. Which or that in the first blank, cause in the second blank, are in the third 

blank, and very or most in the fifth blank. 

19. To in the first blank, when in the second blank, thirsty in the third blank, 

and great or real in the fourth blank. 

20. Whether in the first blank, likes, desires, or welcomes in the second blank, or 

in the third blank, one in the fourth blank, not in the fifth blank, as in 
the sixth blank, insult in the seventh blank. 



APPENDIX D 



S47 



MENTIMETER NO. 2k: Analogies or Mixed Relations. 

As with several of the other lists of answers, no attempt is made here to give 
an exhaustive list of the correct solutions. The words which appear below are 
standard. Anything as good as this standard list should be accepted while 
anything inferior to the printed solutions should not be given credit. 



1. 


Dogs 


16. 


Floor 


2. 


Far, distant 


17. 


Bird, birds, fowl 


3. 


Foot 


18. 


Chauffeur 


4. 


Cat's 


19. 


Was, were, been 


5. 


Hot, warm, heat 


20. 


School, shoal 


6. 


Swims, swim 


21. 


Night 


7. 


Hen 


22. 


Risen 


8. 


Drink 


23. 


Drake 


9. 


School, classroom 


24. 


Sheep, animal, beast 


10. 


Her 


25. 


Women's 


11. 


Law 


26. 


Give, donate, buy, return 


12. 


Colt, foal 


27. 


Aviatrices 


13. 


Bought 


28. 


Criterion 


14. 


Painting, picture, portrait 


29. 


Joneses' 


15. 


Sheep, ram 


30. 


Esoteric 



MENTIMETER NO. 25: Handwriting. 

The reader will be able to count the number of letters written per minute 
and thereby obtain the score in this test without any key. For the quality of 
the results of such a test the reader will compare the handwriting of each candi- 
date with the samples printed on page 239. 



MENTIMETER NO. 26: English Composition. 

This test, like the test for handwriting quality, is a test of the quality of prod- 
ucts produced by the candidates rather than of the difficulty of problems solved. 
Therefore, no set of correct answers is necessary. The quality of the candidate's 
composition shoidd be compared directly with the quality of the printed samples 
appearing on pages 242 to 244. 



848 APPENDIX D 



MENTIMETER NO. 27: Poet 


ic Discrimination. 


The correct order as determined by the judgments of scores of capable judges 


of English Poetry is as follows: 






Best 


Middle 


Poorest 


In Set No. 1 Z 


Y 


X 


In Set No. 2 X 


Y 


Z 


In Set No. 3 Z 


X 


Y 


In Set No. 4 Y 


X 


Z 


In Set No. 5 Y 


Z 


X 


In Set No. 6 Y 


z 


X 



MENTIMETER NO, 28: Arithmetic Reasoning. 

In giving the correct answers below each figure has attached to it the word 
indicating the commodity concerned. No answer should be considered incor- 
rect, however, because it omits the words "dollars," "lemons" or "men." 

j 1. 8 men 8. 3373 quarts 

2. 12 dollars 9. 500 pounds 

. 8. 9 nickels 10. 51 cents 

4. 5 benches 11. 750 people 

5. 8 cents 12. 22 tons 

6. 23 cents 13. $4.80 

7. 16 lemons 14. $1575.00 

MENTIMETER NO. 29: Practical Judgment Test. 

1. Get a drink of water. 

2. It tastes good. 

8. Wear a raincoat. 

4. Ring the alarm and try to put out the fire. 

5. Ask the person's pardon. 

6. The frost has killed them. 

7. To protect them from the colder weather. 

8. At the beach of a summer resort. 

9. Try to make time by hurrying. 

10. To display the flag and inspire patriotism. 

11. Water always becomes solid at low temperatures. 

12. Nail a piece of tin over it. 

13. It is an easily digested and wholesome food. 

14. An incandescent electric bulb. 

15. To create a demand for special brands. 

16. So that their strength may be utilized. 



APPENDIX D 349 



17. The low temperature keeps it fresh. 

18. One could jump from one-story buildings. 

19. Discover and remove the cause of its crying. 

20. It has fewer impurities in it. 

21. To avoid making the city smoky. 

22. To remove the electricity from the air. 

23. High and rapidly. 

24. To help one decide where to read. 

MENTIMETER NO. 30: Logical Conclusions Test 

1. Older than James. 

2. Older than Mary. 

3. Shorter than Dot. 

4. Not heavier than May. 

5. Slower than William. 

6. Smarter than Bertha. 

7. Not as rich as Mr. Jones. 

8. Not noisier than Robert. 

9. Less rapidly than Henry. 

10. Not warmer than Thursday. 

11. Not as frugal as Mrs. Brown. 

12. Not larger than the second. 



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